Coal’s answer to decade-low prices is even lower prices

CHICAGO: Coking coal is testing one of the basics of Econ 101: that low prices are the cure for low prices.

The global metallurgical coal benchmark for the fourth quarter settled last week at US$89 a tonne, down 4.3% from the previous period to the lowest level since March 2005, according to Doyle Trading Consultants, a Grand Junction, Colorado-based industry analyst.