Newcastle Coal Price Falls a Third Week as Demand From Asian Buyers Eases

(Bloomberg) -- The price of power-station coal at
Newcastle, the world's largest export harbor for the fuel, fell
for a third week after Asian customers bought sufficient
inventories to meet demand for the peak summer season.

Coal for immediate delivery dropped 70 cents to $66.30 a
metric ton in the week ended July 20 from the previous week,
according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index. Prices reached a record
$70.88 a ton for the week ended June 28 after storms along
Australia's east coast disrupted shipments.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australian Coal Group Wants Breakup of Queensland Rail to Cut Constraints

(Bloomberg) -- Coal mining companies in Australia's
Queensland state, which export A$18 billion ($16 billion) of the
fuel a year, want the state government to break up Queensland
Rail to reduce constraints on overseas shipments.

Mining companies may seek to buy parts of the rail network
to ease congestion between the railroad and ports, according to
e-mailed speech notes of Michael Roche, chief executive officer
of the Queensland Resources Council, who spoke today at a Sydney
conference.


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Carbon backlash: coal divides corporations

(Reuters) - They are questioning not only the science but also the
motives of some of the big-name corporations who have made
well-publicized commitments to cleaning up their act.




At a recent industry conference in New York, Arch Coal
, one of America's "Big Four" producers, stressed the
need for research and investment in "clean coal" technology
that would allow the country to utilize its abundant reserves
while weaning itself off foreign oil.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Coal Rail Deliveries to Newcastle Port to Reach Normal Capacity on Monday

(Bloomberg) -- Coal deliveries by rail to
Australia's Newcastle Port are expected to reach full capacity by
Monday after being restricted since June 8 due to storms and
flooding.

Deliveries to the port, the world's largest coal-export
harbor, are expected to run at between 85 percent and 95 percent
of capacity over the weekend, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain
Logistics Team, the coordinator of coal movements on the railway
between the mines and the port, said today in a statement on its
Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australia's Newcastle Port Resumes Normal Operations; Coal Prices Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's Newcastle Port, the
world's largest coal export harbor, resumed normal operations
after ship movements were restricted by a storm yesterday. The
price for power-station coal fell from a record.

The port operated at about 80 percent capacity this morning,
Graham Davidson, general manager of Port Waratah Coal Services,
which operates two coal terminals at Newcastle, said by phone
today. Benchmark coal prices at Newcastle declined to $65.75 a
metric ton today from a record of $66.25 yesterday, according to
globalCOAL, an industry publication.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European 2008 Coal Price Climbs to Record; U.K. May Burn More Natural Gas

(Bloomberg) -- Coal for delivery in 2008 delivery in
northwest Europe rose to a record, making natural gas a more
profitable fuel for U.K. power generators over the summer.

Coal for delivery at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp
climbed as much as $1, or 1.3 percent, to $77 a metric ton,
according to prices on Bloomberg from ICAP Plc. It traded at
$76.80 a ton as of 10:12 a.m. in London.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News