"Don't rush to bury us." Global fuel crisis gives new chances to coal miners

Alexander Balyuta (Titov), senior expert at the Energy Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Khimagregaty magazine on the global and Russian coal prices recovery.

— Countries that had high gas generation and coal generation suffer more, they competed. Of course, coal-fired generation is currently being tightened due to a shortage of supplies and rising gas prices. It can be seen that countries such as Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and all those who were tied to gas, have actively increased coal imports today. They bought good volumes in March and April," Alexander Titov says.

— In January-March of this year, production decreased by 6% compared to the same period last year. And exports in January-February were quite weak. At the beginning of the year, in January-February, 14-14.5 million tons were exported. This is 6% worse than last year. And in April, exports already approached 20 million tons, which is already 18% higher than last year's shipments," the analyst said.

Nevertheless, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will bring relief to the miners. The financial situation of coal companies will improve gradually.

— Rather, it is a blurred effect that manifests itself only over time. As long as the production changes, as long as the payment is received under the contract. So renaissance is a big word. The reason for the interest in coal is not fundamental, but rather geopolitical," Alexander Titov says.