Australias met coal production expected to recover From Metal Bulletin Feb.24 issue:
Australian metallurgical coal shipments ‘to return to 2010 levels this year’
Shipments of metallurgical coal from Australia will return to levels close to those of 2010 this year, after a flood-affected 2011, Adam Parums, steel consultant at CRU told delegates at its 18th World Steel conference in London on February 23.
Some 157 million tonnes of metallurgical coal should be exported this year, 30 million tonnes more than in 2011, Parums said. The market will only need an extra 20 million tonnes of supply in 2012, however, meaning exports from the countries that ramped up supply last year to cover Australia’s shortfall will have to be reduced.
“The supply fall will come from the USA,” he said, adding that companies such as Alpha Natural Resources and Walter Energy had already made announcements on production cutbacks for this year. This will result in lower export prices for metallurgical coal this year, he said.