Indonesia eases coal export ban that rattled global market

Workers walk near a tugboat carrying coal barges at a port in Palembang of Indonesia's South Sumatra province, on Jan 4, 2022. - Reuters

JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesia, the world's top exporter of thermal coal, on Monday (Jan 10) said it would ease a ban on exports of the fuel that it imposed to head off looming blackouts.

Fourteen ships loaded with coal and destined for overseas markets would be allowed to leave Indonesia, Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in a statement.