Coal news and updates

Weekly US coal production estimated at 18 million st, down 7.6%: EIA

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 18 million st in the week ended April 11, up 3.5% from the prior week but down 7.6% from the year-ago week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday.

Coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of production from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 7.8 million st during the week, down 6.8% compared with last year.

Year-to-date coal production in Wyoming and Montana is estimated to total 114.4 million st, down 3.8% compared with the same period last year.

In Central Appalachia, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2.3 million st, down 16.3% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 34.4 million st, down 9.3% from last year.

Weekly coal production in Northern Appalachia totaled an estimated 2.6 million st, down 4.9% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 37.6 million st, down 1% from last year.

In the Illinois Basin, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2.5 million st, down 4.3% from last year. For the year, Illinois Basin coal production is estimated to total 36.6 million st, down 5.6% through the same period last year.

The agency said year-to-date US coal production totals an estimated 264.6 million st, down 4.3% from the comparable period last year. The EIA bases its estimates off rail car loadings.

source: http://www.platts.com