Coal traders see end of price rally as China ramps up output

Chinese mine: File photo showing mine workers handling large volumes of coal at the Haizhou opencast mine in Fuxin in northeast China’s Liaoning province. – EPA

PRAGUE: Coal’s recovery was one of the biggest surprises in commodities this year, but it’s all poised to end as output rises from China, producer of half the world’s supply.

After half a decade of declines, European prices rebounded more than 80% as China, also the world’s biggest consumer of the fuel, boosted imports. Benchmark month-ahead contracts will fall by 25% by the end of next year, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts and traders.