In contrast to thermal coal, the price of metallurgical coal price has recovered from steep declines during the first half of 2013.
Benchmark Australian premium coking coal traded for $151 a tonne on Thursday, up from multi-year lows of $131 at tonne struck in early July .
At the Coal Association of Canada conference now happening in Vancouver BC, analyst Joe Aldina of Wood Mackenzie had some more good news for (most) people in the industry.
A further pick up in demand for coking coal is expected for the next 12 years:
Met coal exporters can successfully take on Chinese producers:
Canada’s high-quality met coal is expensive to mine, but still competitive:
Australian exporters have been helped out by the slide in the A$
But US exporters will continue to lose money even as the price climbs from recent lows: