Newcastle Port thermal coal price dips by 9.5%...

Newcastle Port thermal coal price dips by 9.5%

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2008/09/23/NjQwMTA%3D/Newcastle_Port_thermal_coal_price_dips_by_9.5%252525.html

Bloomberg reported that power station coal prices at Australia's Newcastle port dropped by 9.5% last week to the lowest in four months after declines in crude oil and slowing demand from China.

According to the globalCOAL NEWC Index, the weekly index for power station coal prices at the New South Wales port fell USD 14.35 to USD 137.30 a tonne in the period ended September 19th 2008. The index has slumped by 30% since trading at a record USD 194.79 for the week ended July 4th 2008.

Xstrata Plc, BHP Billiton Limited and Rio Tinto Group are among mining companies that ship coal through Newcastle. Thermal coal producers won a 125% increase in annual contract prices in the year that started April 1st 2008 to USD 125 a tonne.

The weekly globalCOAL index is up 53% this year. The monthly index fell 13 percent to USD 160.90 a tonne in August 2008 from USD 184.51 a month earlier.