The price of coal rose by 4.6%. In February, the national average mixed coal price was 6 14 yuan/ton, up 4.6% from the previous month. Among them, the average price of bituminous coal was 555 yuan/ton, up 5.71%from the previous month; The average price of smokeless high-quality mixture was 673 yuan/ton, up 5.7 1% from the previous month. In 2008, the price of coal will still rise sharply. The Opinions of Shandong Coal Industry Bureau on Effective Optimization of Coal Mine Layout and Rational Centralized Production forwarded by the National Development and Reform Commission put forward that the production level of coal mines, the number of mining faces and the upper and lower limits of coal resource exploitation should be strictly controlled. In the future, the mining depth of large and medium-sized coal mines should be controlled within 1000 meters in principle; The mining depth of small coal mines should generally be controlled within 600 meters; In principle, it is no longer approved to raise the mining ceiling. In addition, aging coal mines with recoverable reserves of coal resources within 5 years (including 5 years) are not allowed to increase their production capacity, and their output should be gradually reduced and closed within a time limit. The convergence meeting of coal production, transportation and demand was reformed and developed on the basis of the past coal ordering meeting. In 2008, the preparatory meeting for the convergence of coal production, transportation and demand held that in 2008, the coal market in China will continue to show a basic trend of strong overall supply and demand, and individual coal types and some regions may be in tension at different stages. According to industry insiders, due to the convergence of production and transportation, the contract price of coal may rise sharply. Since 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission has made it clear that the traditional coal ordering meeting will no longer be held. On the basis of the reform in the previous two years, the price of thermal coal will be further liberalized, and the supply and demand sides will negotiate independently. Finally, the trade association will summarize the coal sales contract. At this point, the price of thermal coal began to gradually move towards marketization. The marketization of thermal coal means that the price of coal will accelerate, and the price difference between contract coal price and market coal price will be further revised. According to the data of China Coal Resources Network, the market price of thermal coal has been rising continuously since May this year. As of June this year165438+1October 10, the pit price of Datong thermal coal excluding tax was 280 yuan/ton, up 15 yuan/ton from the end of June, and up by 50 yuan/ton since July. The pit price of Taiyuan thermal coal excluding tax is 270 yuan/ton, which is higher than the end of 10/ton 10 yuan. Judging from the upward trend of market coal price this year, the contract price of coal still has a lot of room to rise. Many coal industry analysts interviewed by China Sankei Shimbun believe that the contract price of coal will increase by at least 30 yuan/ton this year, and the price increase of high-quality thermal coal can even reach 50 yuan/ton.