Cost Of Coal From Richards Bay SA (World's Largest Coal Port) Up 19% In 1 Year

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Coal for shipment from South Africa`s Richards Bay, site of the world`s largest export terminal for the fuel, rose to a three-year high as demand from European customers strengthened.

Coal from Richards Bay rose 45 cents, or 0.7% to US$61/t for the week ended Sept 14, according to McCloskey Group Ltd. That is the highest since the week ended August 20, 2004.

India "was the biggest single customer in the first half", John Howland, an analyst at Petersfield, England-based McCloskey Group, said by phone. "Europe didn`t want coal at the beginning of the year. Now European buying interest has come back in, although it is small."

Global demand for coal is being driven by Asia, which will take 31% of South African supplies by 2030, about five times more than in 2005, miner BHP Billiton Ltd forecast on Sept4. That will squeeze supplies to European steelmakers and generators including EON AG, Germany`s largest.

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