Bloomberg reported that the slump in European coal prices — the longest in at least eight years — looks set to end on the back of falling imports from the United States and production cuts in Russia and Poland.
The Economic Times reported that from 2013 to 2014, India is expected increase its coal imports by 8.7 percent, to 35 million metric tons, as its steelmaking capacity rises.
Platts reported that more 12- and 24-hour strikes at Port Waratah Coal Services' coal export terminals, located at the Australia-based Newcastle port, have been endorsed by union-affiliated workers.
Bloomberg reported that China has suspended production at all Sichuan coal mines following a May 11 explosion that killed 28 workers and injured 18 others. The stoppages are not likely to affect coal prices nationwide.
People's Daily Online reported that as many as half of the coal companies in Ordos, which is "one of the major domestic coal producing regions in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region," have reduced or halted coal production due to falling electricity consumption and increased use of hydropower.
New Delhi Television reported that the Supreme Court of India believes that "the heart" of the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) Coalgate report draft was altered as a result of government suggestions. That's in contrast to the CBI's claim that the "central theme of the status reports have not changed."
Bloomberg reported that Australia's 30-percent tax on coal and iron profits will bring in only AU$800 million in revenue by June 30, down from an earlier estimate of $2 billion.
The Times of India reported that Ranjit Sinha, director of India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), filed an affidavit stating that changes were made to the CBI's draft report on Coalgate as a result of suggestions put forward by Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and others. Previously, Sinha had said that while government officials saw the report, he had not allowed any "substantive changes" to be made.
The Wall Street Journal reported that although US coal production fell 7 percent last year, coal output in the Illinois Basin is thriving and, primarily on the back of new technology, is expected to surpass that of Central Appalachia for the first time in the next few years.
The Seattle Times reported that increased coal export activity from Montana has placed the state at the forefront of "one of the Northwest's biggest environmental battles in a decade." While companies like Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD) are keen to mine the state's coal and export it to Asia, environmental groups are launching large-scale campaigns against the movement.
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