Coal producers stand to profit as analysts expect prices to remain high this year due to supply shortages and strong oil prices.

Shares of coal mining firm Straits Asia Resources jumped 11.5 per cent on Monday to a record high of $3.89, after a benchmark Australia coal price hit another fresh high.

Another Singapore-listed counter, Noble Group, which owns coal mines in Australia, also surged 9.7 per cent to $2.03.

The bull charge in coal plays was not just confined to counters here.

Hong Kong-listed coal firm China Shenhua Energy gained 2.6 per cent, while Australia-listed Centennial Coal added another 2.7 per cent after it surged 5.4 per cent last Friday.

The key trigger for these increases was weekly coal prices soaring 25 per cent to a record US$116.44 a ton at Australia's Newcastle port, a key indicator for Asia.

Power-station coal prices there hit the second straight week of record levels, climbing US$23.09 for the week ending Feb 1, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.

The sharp recent increase was due largely to snow storms in China resulting in a supply crunch.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.