Had a little bit of a drop in line with the whole market... but...

Had a little bit of a drop in line with the whole market... but has held up well.

Some interesting thoughts on the future of coal prices:

Coal's run may be far from over
By Jamie Dlugosch

As if someone threw a light switch, the coal sector made an abrupt turn to the downside July 2 when investors decided to cash in on huge gains. In two days of trading in advance of the Fourth of July, shares fell nearly 20% across the board.

Such is life in a volatile bear market. Even the sectors that are managing to perform in this environment can get crushed at the drop of a hat.

I think we need to be open to the possibility that coal's run is far from over. Though I agree with those who say oil is a bubble waiting to pop, I am not certain such a deflation is imminent. Even then, I am not convinced falling oil prices would be detrimental to the coal sector. Specifically, coal offers some intriguing advantages over its carbon brother. Clean-burning technology allows coal to be considered an alternative to other, more-polluting sources.

Many investors have been burned by great fundamentals that suddenly go sour when earnings collapse. That was the case with the home-building sector. Will it be the same with coal? I don't think so.

As I mentioned above, coal demand is fairly strong. If you include the potential of coal-to-liquid technology, we could see coal usage increase even if demand for oil drops. Add in the power-generation needs of the rest of the world, and you have the ingredients for long-term gains with Arch. I would be a buyer, taking advantage of a short-term 15% correction in the stock, but I'll let blogger Russ have the last word: "Energy stocks in general have been doing well in this tough market. Although there's no way to know for sure if that will continue, I don't see any reason for energy companies to start underperforming.

"Given that strength, having some energy exposure in a portfolio makes a lot of sense, and coal is a good way to get that exposure."