NDRC studying ways to stabilize coal prices over the long run

China's top economic regulator said on Tuesday it was working on a mechanism to stabilize coal prices over the long run, marking the latest move to ease the rising coal prices.

The National Development and Reform Commission was conducting the profit and cost analysis in the coal sector to study a pricing mechanism of base price plus floating price, which will help keep coal prices within a reasonable range for the long run, according to a statement posted on the NDRC's official WeChat account.

The NDRC said it will also take new measures to strengthen the regulation and bring the coal market back to rational operations.

Earlier this month, the NDRC announced a new guideline to deepen pricing reform in the energy sector, which said all coal-fired power prices will be determined by market forces.

Under the guideline, prices of coal-fired power can fluctuate within a range of 20 percent, compared with the former ceiling of 10 percent and floor of 15 percent.

The improved pricing mechanism will lift costs for high energy-consuming enterprises, which are not bound by the 20 percent upper limit, in a move to curb irrational power consumption and to encourage firms to improve their energy efficiency, the NDRC said.