The New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price finished Tuesday's session up a healthy 6.12% at $5.72. This came after the ASX coal miner hit a new 10-year high of $5.79 just moments before market close.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) gained just 0.5% for the day. Elsewhere though, other ASX coal shares also enjoyed a stellar session on Tuesday. The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price notched up its own all-time high, finishing the day 3.65% higher, while Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) shares finished 6.34% higher.
New Hope shares reached the 10-year milestone despite there being no news from the company today. However, macro tailwinds have been developing, boosting ASX coal miners. Let's go over the highlights.
What's been boosting New Hope?
New Hope shares enjoyed strong gains today on the back of some positive news for the sector overall. Firstly, as reported by The Australian Financial Review, despite increasing global pressure to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated that Australia will continue to be a key international supplier of energy materials like gas and coal.
Speaking at the annual Minerals Council of Australia dinner on Monday night, he said:
Australia will continue to be a trusted and stable supplier of energy and resources to our key trading partners. As we work with other nations to reduce emissions globally, we will continue to be a reliable provider of energy.
Secondly, the global energy continues to worsen, boosting the demand for coal and sending profits soaring for Australia's largest coal mining shares.
Over the weekend, Russia shut down its Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, restricting supply to several European nations and forcing them to find alternative energy supplies. This resulted in future contracts of Newcastle Coal rising to a new high of US$435 per tonne.
Meanwhile, Whitehaven Coal, which made a $1.95 billion profit for FY22, reported in its annual results release to the ASX late last month that the outlook for coal remains strong:
It is likely to take several years before additional supply or alternative energy sources are available to rebalance global supply and demand dynamics.
New Hope share price snapshot
The New Hope share price has gained a whopping 156% this year to date. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 8.3% over the same period.
The company's market capitalisation based on the current share price is around $4.76 billion.
