UPDATE 1-China coal price hits record on intl prices, quake

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SHANGHAI, May 22 (Reuters) - China's coal prices rose to a record high on Thursday due to higher international prices and rising demand for coal after last week's devastating earthquake in southwest China, traders and analysts said.

The benchmark price for top grade 5,800 kcal/kg coal at Qinhuangdao, China's top coal shipping port, rose 25 yuan from Wednesday to 745-755 yuan ($107-$108.50), up 62 percent from a year earlier, according to www.cqcoal.com, a market information website operated by a domestic industry venture.

"With the fast rise in prices on the international market, people here expect that domestic prices will catch up," said a Guangzhou-based trader, who asked not to be named.

Thermal coal prices at Australia's Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, had risen to a three-month high near $135 a tonne by Monday, led by strong demand from Europeans looking for an alternative to expensive oil.

Traders and analysts noted that the high international prices provided a strong incentive for Chinese miners to export, which in turn put pressure on supplies on the domestic market.

In addition, the deadly earthquake that hit Sichuan province last week has shut several of the region's hydropower stations and natural gas facilities, analysts said.

"Cuts in natural gas and hydropower production have led to surging demand for coal," said Henry Liu, an analyst at Macquarie.

Coal prices are expected to continue to climb with the approach of summer, the peak electricity consumption season, but traders and analysts said the government might take steps to ensure coal supplies ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Edmund Klamann)