Higher Transport Costs Drive up Coal Price

Full article in Chinese: http://www.bocvip.com/2009-10-27/110296148.html

China's coal prices continued to rise during the week ended Oct. 23 as output in western provinces played a bigger role than at the same time last year, lifting the average transport cost, an analyst said.
The benchmark price at Qinhuangdao, the key coal port in eastern Hebei province, rose to an 11-month high of about 670 yuan a ton during the week.
The price hike is not a result of a shortage but coal production moving westward, a coal industry analyst at trade consultancy DPPC told Caijing on Tuesday.