Coal prices have jumped to their highest in a year helped by a drop in Chinese domestic production, which is forcing the country to import.
The shift has particularly benefited the price of coking coal, used for steelmaking and much scarcer than thermal coal, which fires power plants. “Coking coal is one of our preferred commodities,” said Christopher LaFemina, mining analyst at Barclays Capital, adding that the seaborne coal market was “turning the corner”.
The strength of Chinese imports has surprised coal miners Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American which were braced for a protracted period of low prices because of low demand in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the traditional buyers.
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