March 18, 2009: United States imported a total of 1.12 million tons (mt) of coal at an average price of $74.36 per ton cif in January 2009.

March 18, 2009: Straits Resources Ltd. of Australia has set its expected coal production at 9 million tons (mt) to 9.5 mt in the calendar year 2009, which would help the company register a hike of 5 to 10 percent compared to the previous year. The company produced 8.58 mt of coal during the calendar year 2008.

March 18, 2009: China produced 24.23 million tons of coal coke in February 2009, down by 3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

March 18, 2009: A spot deal of 50,000 tons for delivery in April 2009 was realized on March 16, 2009 at the South African thermal coal market (physical RB) of globalCOAL at $55 per ton fob.

March 17, 2009: Exports of thermal and coking coal from Australia's New South Wales (NSW), Newcastle Port have increased by 1.4 percent during January 2009 as compared to the corresponding period in 2008, as per the data released in a recent Tex Report.

March 17, 2009: Taiwan imported coking coal at $255.52 per ton cif in the month of January 2009.

March 17, 2009: China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd. recorded a growth of 1.4 percent in its saleble coal production in February 2009 compared to the corresponding period last year. The company produced 15 million tons of saleble coal during the month.

March 17, 2009: Coal coke exports by China stood at 0.074 million tons during January 2009 at an average price of $372.7 per ton fob.

March 17, 2009: A physical deal of ACPRS (Australian, Colombian, Polish, Russian and South African) coal deal was realized on March 13, 2009 at the market of globalCOAL, ARA (DES) at $57.65 per ton.

March 17, 2009: National Thermal Power Corporation has given technical approval for the establishment of a coal-based thermal power plant at Kudagi in Basavanabagewadi taluk of Bijapur district.

March 17, 2009: Tata Power Company, India's largest private power utility, may be the first firm to divest part of its shareholding in an ultra mega power project (UMPP) to finance capacity additions of 5,660 MW.

March 17, 2009: Tata Power Company has set to rest speculation that it was trying to sell its stake in two Indonesian coal mines owned by PT Bumi Resources.

By Chandrika Bose

March 16, 2009: India's coking coal production in January 2009 stood at 3.29 million tons (mt), down by 4.98 percent compared with 3.46 mt produced in the corresponding month of the previous year, according to information available with Steel Insights.

March 16, 2009: Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), the second largest subsidiary of Coal India (CIL), is yet to introduce outsourcing of overburden removal work in five targeted open cast mines due to opposition by the workers trade unions, mainly in the Ib valley area.

March 16, 2009: Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel has initiated talks with an Australian mining firm to form a joint venture (JV) for exploration and mining of coking coal in Queensland, Australia, according to a person mediating in the proposed venture.

March 16, 2009: The weekly index price at DES ARA Index of globalCOAL moved up in the week ended on March 13, 2009.

March 16, 2009: The Richards Bay Index price for thermal coal for delivery within June 2009 witnessed a decline in the week ended on March 13, 2009.

March 16, 2009: Newcastle weekly index price in the week ended March 13, 2009 for delivery within June 2009, moved up marginally by 0.64 percent over the last week's level.

March 13, 2009: China exported only 30,000 tons of coke in February, against the usual 1 million tons per month levels.

March 13, 2009: In its first acquisition of an overseas coal block, Coal India (CIL) has been allocated two blocks at Moatize (in Tete Province) of Mozambique.