Resources specialists at GSJB Were returned from a trip to Tokyo...

Resources specialists at GSJB Were returned from a trip to Tokyo this week with the view that global supply chains for coal are even more stretched than they thought. The analysts now believe the price prospects for coal do not only look better for the coming year, but also for the year thereafter - a scenario cautiously suggested by some experts for iron ore as well.

One potentially interesting observation made is that India has started to play a major role for both thermal and coking coal, leading the analysts to conclude that "the emergence of India is now having a very significant impact on selected commodities". If true, this would be a major change from the past four years as well.

GSJBW has raised its price forecasts for the coming year to +53% to US$150/t for premium hard coking coal, to +59% to US$102/t for semi-soft coking coal, to +62% to US$90/t for thermal coal and to +78% to US$120/t for low volume PCI.