Coal Market May Suffer Bottlenecks for Five Years, Eurasia...

Coal Market May Suffer Bottlenecks for Five Years, Eurasia Says

Heather Berkman, an analyst with Eurasia Group in Washington, comments on the thermal-coal market after the worst floods in 50 years in the Australian state of Queensland closed mines and damaged railroads. She commented in a report dated today.

Thermal-coal supplies have not suffered as much by recent flooding as coking coal.

But with thermal-coal import demand on the rise in China and India, the weather-related disruptions of the past few months have underscored the potential bottlenecks that could squeeze thermal-coal markets over the next five years.

South Africa has already emerged as a swing producer, with exports to Asian growth markets on the rise, particularly to India.

With thermal-coal demand in the U.S. and EU facing stagnant growth prospects in coming years due to a host of environmental regulations and the gas glut brought on by surging shale-gas production in the U.S., producers in Colombia and the U.S. also figure to benefit from increasing constraints on thermal-coal supply for China and India.

By Alistair Holloway - Jan 20, 2011 9:25 PM GMT+0800


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-20/coal-market-may-suffer-bottlenecks-for-five-years-eurasia-says.html