Coal news and updates

Steelmaking coal producers have started to slash production in response to lower prices, but Teck Resources Ltd. is warning that a lot more supply needs to be cut by high-cost rivals to bring the market into balance.

 

“Prices are currently at their lowest level since 2007, and margins are at their lowest level in 10 years,” chief executive Don Lindsay said on a conference call Tuesday. “We continue to be surprised there remains so much uneconomic coal supply on the market.”

 

Vancouver-based Teck announced on Tuesday that it will cut roughly 600 jobs as it tries to reduce costs and adapt to lower commodity prices, particularly for coal. The company’s realized coal price in the first quarter was US$131 a tonne; by comparison, Teck sold its steelmaking (or coking) coal for an average of US$257 a tonne in 2011.

 

The market has gotten even worse in recent weeks. The benchmark price for the second quarter is just US$120 a tonne, while spot prices have flirted with US$100.

 

 

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/