UPDATE 1-Straits Asia sells '09 sub-bituminous coal at $110/T

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PERTH Aug 5 (Reuters) - Singapore-listed miner Straits Asia Resources Ltd STRL.SI and a North Asian utility have settled a 2009 sub-bituminous thermal coal contract at about $110 a tonne, up about 83 percent from a year ago, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The contract, signed late last month, was for 600,000 tonnes of sub-bituminous coal for delivery beginning in February 2009, said the source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The settlement price is up from about $60 last year, the source said. The supply contract was for coal with a calorific value of less than 5,500 kcal/kilogram on a gross as received basis (GAR).

Shares in Straits Asia were down 7.7 percent at A$2.39 by 0629 GMT, compared with a 1.8 percent decline in the broader Straits Times index .FTSTI.

Traders said the agreed price was close to market levels at the time, and Straits Asia had benefited from sealing the contract early as coal prices has fallen sharply in the past few weeks.

"The market price for similar quality coal would probably be about $95 now," said a Singapore-based trader.

Prices of top-grade Australian thermal coal, a benchmark for Asia, struck a record high of $201 a tonne on July 1, but have since lost about $40 due to tepid demand and falling oil and gas prices.

The price for top-grade thermal coal in Australia has jumped nearly 80 percent from the start of the year to about $160 a tonne, based on globalCOAL's latest weekly NEWC index.

Sub-bituminous coal is cheaper than bituminous coal because it has a lower heating value and typically has a higher ash content. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Louise Heavens)