SGX-listed double 'G' coal plays fired up and stoked

COAL, one of the world's dirtiest fossil fuels, is all the rage amid a global economic revival and an extraordinary electricity crunch facing the world's gargantuan consumers.

All that coupled with a climateinduced tight supply has sent coal prices on a tear, even as the world shifts away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to alternative clean energy. The bursting demand has led to a shortage of the "black gold".

Nowhere is this more clear than in China and India - the world's largest coal consumers. China's largest energy crunch in more than a decade is fuelling demand for coal, but heavy rain has curbed its output, with domestic coal miners reportedly asked to raise outputs.