Arch, Peabody to combine western US coal assets

US coal producers Arch Coal and Peabody Energy today announced they will combine their Powder River basin (PRB) and Colorado assets into a joint venture. Increased competition in thermal coal markets require companies to increase efficiency, drive down costs and reduce future capital requirements, said John Eaves, Arch’s chief executive. “It is hard to envision […]

World News: Japan is the world’s third-largest coal-importing country

Japan imported more than 210 million short tons (MMst) of coal in 2018, making it the world’s third-largest coal-importing country after only India and China. Japan continues to use steam coal to fuel one-third of its electricity generation and metallurgical coal for raw steel production. Japan imports nearly all (99%) of the coal it consumes. Australia is Japan’s primary coal supplier, supplying […]

Colombian cement maker Cementos Argos imports coal

The elevated cost of securing and transporting coal from Colombia’s interior region has prompted a major cement maker with coastal facilities to import coal and petroleum coke from the US. The elevated cost of producing coal in inland Colombian provinces and trucking to coastal regions has led to an 11pc increase in fuel costs for […]

Near-term North America coal outlook stable

Moody’s has kept its short-term outlook for the North American coal industry stable, primarily supported by steady metallurgical coal prices. It says thermal coal demand remains in secular decline. According to a research note, Moody’s expects flat to slightly lower EBITDA for North American coal miners through mid-2020, but any negative outlook signals, such as […]

World News: Canadian coking coal exports weighed down by Europe

Canada exported 2.12mn t of coking coal in April, down by 18pc on the year, in the absence of shipments to key European destinations, data from Statistics Canada show. There were no coking coal shipments from Canada to the Netherlands, the UK and Germany in April, partly reflecting multiple headwinds facing western Europe’s steel industry. […]

Atlantic coking coal: Ukraine seeks extra US tonnes

US export coking coal prices edged down further today as a negative global sentiment pervades, but some additional buying interest emerged in eastern Europe, potentially in connection to new restrictions on Russian coking coal exports to Ukraine. The Argus daily fob Hampton Roads assessment for low-volatile coking coal came down by $1/t today to $177/t. The high-volatile […]

Gordon asks AG for strategy to sue Washington over coal ports

Governor Mark Gordon asked Attorney General Bridget Hill to research how Wyoming could sue Washington over that state’s decision to deny a coal port permit over environmental concerns, the governor said last week. “We are considering whether what’s called an original act or original lawsuit is advisable,” Gordon told WyoFile in an interview Friday. Gordon […]

China imports of U.S. coking coal rise five-fold in April on trade deal bets

China’s imports of U.S. coking coal rose more than five times in April from a month earlier, customs data showed, on traders’ earlier bets that trade tensions between Beijing and Washington were easing. Shipments of coking coal from the United States rose to 308,789 tonnes last month, up from 60,585 tonnes in March, according to […]

Asian banks shun coal, strangling U.S. exports

Asia’s banking giants are turning their backs on new coal project lending, posing long-term challenges for exporters in the United States and beyond. What began as a trickle is becoming a flood as more and more financial institutions in the region announce that they will no longer provide loans or extend credit to new coal-fired […]

U.S. coal seen as gaining international foothold

US coal producers are transitioning from swing suppliers to permanent fixtures in global markets as interest in higher sulfur coal increases, Alliance Resource Partner’s chief financial officer Brian Cantrell said today at the MLP & Energy Infrastructure Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. “A few years ago we viewed the export market as cyclical, with the […]