Though some of you may be interested to read this. European coal...

Though some of you may be interested to read this.

European coal producer New World Resources (NWR) has agreed full-year 2015 prices of $110 (€93) per tonne for three-quarters of its expected annual production, the company said on Wednesday January 7.
Prices for the remainder of its expected production would be negotiated later in the year, it added.

The agreed term price is almost 10% higher than NWR’s fourth-quarter 2014 settlement with customers, but disappointed some market observers.

Ratings agency Moody’s said on Thursday that NWR’s 2015 price settlement of $110 per tonne was lower than expected and would translate into weaker than expected financial performance.

Moody’s predicts that full-year 2015 coking coal prices will average $120-140 per tonne.

The agreement to lock in such a high proportion of NWR’s expected output for the year represented a departure from the company’s standard practice in recent years, the agency said, noting that coking coal prices had been negotiated with customers on a quarterly basis.

"While an annual price agreement provides stability and significantly reduces volatility," Moody’s said, "the new agreed price level suggests that there is currently very little confidence in a faster and more meaningful recovery in coking coal prices – at least for this year."