coal-mining-explorationPrices for coal shipped from South Africa’s Richards Bay, site of the continent’s biggest export facility for the fuel, rose to a ten-month high on Asian demand and orders before the year-end holidays.

Export prices increased 96 c, or 1,4 percent, to an average of $68,45 a metric ton in the week ended December 11, according to the McCloskey Group.

That’s the highest since the week ended February 13.

Prices at the port, Europe’s biggest source of coal burned for power, have fallen about 7,2 percent in 12 months. European demand for coal may strengthen after the European zone economies emerged from recession in the third quarter.

“People are definitely condensing four weeks of activity into two in December because of Christmas coming up,” Andrew Wells, an assistant editor at Petersfield, England-based McCloskey, said by phone on Monday.

“There’s quite a bit coal secured from China for the first quarter from Richards Bay.”

Coal exports from Richards Bay fell 11 percent in November from a year ago. Shipments fell to 5,64-million tons in November from 6,37-million tons a year earlier, according to data posted on the terminal’s web-site.

The terminal is owned by South Africa’s largest coal exporters, including BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Xstrata.

At its November shipment rate, the Richards Bay terminal will export 60,6-million tons of coal this year, compared with capacity of 76-million tons, and shipments of 61,79-million tons last year.

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