Soochow Securities·2026-03-08 08:48Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Overweight" rating for the coal mining industry [1] Core Viewpoints - The current fundamentals of the port thermal coal market remain weak, with downstream industrial power demand showing weak recovery post-holiday, coupled with high temperatures leading to low residential demand. The end of the heating season is expected to keep coal prices in a fluctuating trend [1] - The report suggests focusing on the incremental insurance funds and the positive growth of premium income, which is increasingly concentrated among leading insurance companies. Given the ongoing scarcity of fixed-income assets and high dividend assets, there is an expectation for a shift towards equity allocations, particularly favoring resource stocks [2] - The report recommends core elastic targets in thermal coal, specifically suggesting attention to Haohua Energy and Guanghui Energy, which are considered undervalued [2][36] Summary by Sections Industry Overview - From March 2 to March 6, the port thermal coal spot price decreased by 8 CNY/ton, closing at 743 CNY/ton. The average daily inflow to the four ports in the Bohai Rim was 1.8925 million tons, an increase of 143,500 tons or 8.20% from the previous week. The supply from production areas has improved as production resumes post-holiday [1] - The average daily outflow from the four ports was 1.7195 million tons, an increase of 46,000 tons or 2.75% from the previous week. The total inventory at the four ports reached 25.508 million tons, an increase of 1.54 million tons or 6.43% from the previous week [1][31] Price Trends - As of March 6, the price of 5500 kcal thermal coal at Datong South Suburb increased by 23 CNY/ton to 667 CNY/ton, while the price at Yanzhou decreased by 70 CNY/ton to 880 CNY/ton. The port price of 5500 kcal thermal coal at Qinhuangdao decreased by 8 CNY/ton to 743 CNY/ton [15] - The thermal coal price index in the Bohai Rim region increased by 4 CNY/ton to 689 CNY/ton, while the Qinhuangdao port price index increased by 5 CNY/ton to 695 CNY/ton [18] International Market - International thermal coal prices showed mixed trends, with the Newcastle coal price index decreasing by 1.69 USD/ton to 115.71 USD/ton, while the South African Richards Bay coal price remained stable at 85.25 USD/ton [18] Shipping and Logistics - The average shipping cost on domestic major routes increased by 3 CNY/ton to 32.83 CNY/ton, reflecting a 10% increase [32] Market Sentiment - The report emphasizes the importance of monitoring the recovery pace of downstream economies, which could impact demand for electricity and steel, thereby affecting thermal and coking coal prices [36]