Coal quality has an influence, but China sets the prices for now
by steve fiscor, editor
The global seaborne coal trade is a market in transition. Despite the tariffs and trade rhetoric, prices remained high and business was brisk for both thermal and metallurgical coals last year. Met coal demand moves in lockstep with steel production and, while China and India continue to produce record amounts of steel, steel production in other parts of the world has slowed. The fact that coal producers have not brought more met coal to market is helping to sustain prices for coking coals. Is there a correction in the offing or is this the new norm?
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