Coal prices are falling so fast that China, the world's biggest producer, has cut capacity by more than Australia's entire coal output.
Slowing economic growth is sapping demand for fuel used to generate electricity, encouraging miners to halt output rather than sell at a loss. And Indonesia, the world's biggest exporter, forecasts its own production might stagnate for the first time.
Chinese coal has dropped for 12 weeks to the lowest level since October 2009, data from the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association shows. Coal with an energy value of 5500 kilocalories per kilogram at Qinhuangdao traded in a range of 620 yuan ($A97) to 635 yuan a tonne as of July 29.
Advertisement Domestic prices may recover after falling to 600 yuan a tonne, the median estimate of four analysts and traders suggests.
While Australia's thermal-coal exports will rise 11% to 164 million tonnes this year, Indonesian shipments will almost stall, according to the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics. Indonesian cargoes will climb 2% to 308 million, the bureau said