Coal

PPL Corp, an electric and gas utility company, beat Wall Street's first-quarter estimate on Wednesday thanks to favorable weather conditions in Pennsylvania and Kentucky and higher transmission rates. Both states saw an increase in electricity sales of 6.6% during the third quarter. This helped offset higher costs, and increased operating revenue by 8.7%. The U.S. is expected to hit record-high power consumption in 2025 and '26. This will be due to the rapid expansion of data centres and increased use of electricity by homes and businesses for heating and transportation. According to the company, active data center demands from 2026-2034...

Around 40 federal employees who were working on coal-mining safety and firefighter's safety before losing their jobs have been asked to return to their work this week. However, it is unclear whether their positions will permanently be reinstated, West Virginia senator and agency's union stated on Tuesday. Employees from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (part of the Health and Human Services Department) worked on programs to prevent firefighter and coal miner fatalities and promote the health and safety of coal miners. The Trump administration reduced the NIOSH workforce by about 1,000 people earlier this month. The move...

PG&E Corp. missed its first-quarter profit estimate on Thursday as it was hit by higher operating expenses and interest costs. Interest rates that are higher for longer increases the borrowing costs of utility companies. These companies need to borrow more money for their expenses, such as grid maintenance. PG&E's interest costs rose by 2.7% in the first quarter of this year, to $734 millions. In January, multiple wildfires scorched thousands of acres in Los Angeles. This is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. History. Electric utilities in the area have also been under increased scrutiny. The utility...

PG&E Corp. missed its first-quarter profit estimate on Thursday as it was hit by higher operating expenses and interest costs. Interest rates that are higher for longer increases the borrowing costs of utility companies. These companies need to borrow more money for their expenses, such as grid maintenance. PG&E's interest costs rose by 2.7% in the first quarter of this year, to $734 millions. In January, multiple wildfires scorched thousands of acres in Los Angeles. This is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. History. Electric utilities in the area have also been under increased scrutiny. PG&E will...

Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican senator, asked Robert Kennedy Jr. of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday to reinstate programs that protect coal miners who have received layoff notices. Capito, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, has said that the work of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a Division of HHS, was critical for her coal-producing State and did not duplicate any government program. HHS announced mass layoffs of NIOSH employees on April 1. This included around 875 out of the 1,000 strong workforce....

Josh Cochran has been working in West Virginia coal mines since he was 22, earning a six-figure income that enabled him to purchase a house with his wife Stephanie, and go hunting and fishing in his free time. He was diagnosed with advanced lung disease at 43 years old. He is now awaiting a lung donation, uses an oxygen tank to breathe, and requires his wife's help with basic household tasks. He says that his saving grace is the fact that he still has a job. Part 90, a federal program administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and...

According to the Environmental Protection Agency's list published on Tuesday, the Trump administration has granted exemptions to 47 companies for two years from regulations that limit mercury and air pollutants in their coal-fired plants. The list of exemptions is the latest attempt by the administration to use emergency or executive orders to shield polluting plants from immediate compliance with the air and water standards that were tightened by Biden's administration, as the EPA embarks on a longer process to rollback those rules. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standard of the Biden era is still in effect after the Supreme Court...

China's imports were low in the first quarter. The challenge is to determine whether this was due to temporary factors, or a deeper economic malaise. In the first quarter of 2025, the four biggest commodity imports - crude oil, coal, iron ore and copper - all fell compared to 2024. The soft imports can be explained by the fact that the second largest economy in the world is still trying to gain momentum for economic growth. This task is made more difficult by the trade war escalating by U.S. president Donald Trump. This ignores a number of factors that are...

Peabody Energy announced on Tuesday that it is reviewing all options in relation to its $3.78 Billion acquisition agreement with Anglo American, for some of the Australian steelmaking coal assets. This was after an ignition incident at a mine. The deal was signed in the last year, and it was expected to be completed by mid-2025. Media reports claim that production at Anglo American Moranbah North Mine, located in Queensland's Bowen Basin, Australia, was suspended last week after an underground fire broke-out at the mine. Peabody stated that it is in constant communication with Anglo American, to better understand its...

In the wake of U.S. president Donald Trump's tariff war, iron ore has performed better than other commodities such as crude oil and copper. Iron ore futures trading on the Singapore Exchange closed at $99.54 per metric ton Monday. This is a three-month high and down 4.1% compared to the close of $103.77 on April 2, when Trump imposed tariffs against U.S. trade partners. The Singapore contracts reflect a large number of views from market participants other than China. China buys around three quarters of global seaborne ore, and produces just under half of all steel in the world. Even...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter said that U.S. president Donald Trump would sign executive orders Tuesday to boost the coal industry in the United States. The White House announced that Trump, who ran on a campaign promise to increase U.S. production of energy and has tried to rollback a range energy and environmental regulations ever since he took office in January 20, will sign orders related to energy at the White House. According to a source who was briefed about the details, Trump will sign executive orders that direct the Interior and Energy Departments take action to support...

The Trump administration took a major step on Tuesday in leasing new areas for a North Dakota mine that plans to operate until 2045. Why it Matters The publication of an environmental draft analysis of the new lease areas of North Dakota's Freedom Mine aligns with President Donald Trump’s goal of increasing U.S. fossil-fuel production and reviving coal for electricity production. The United States' electricity supply, formerly dominated by coal, is now only about 16 percent, as natural gas and renewable energy are cheaper. By the Numbers Freedom Mine is owned by a NACCO division and produces between 11.5 to...

The Ministry of Finance (MOF), on Thursday, reported that Japan's crude oil imports cleared by customs in 2024 fell 7.1% from the previous year, and the value of the imported crude oil dropped 5.7%, to 10.65 trillion Japanese yen ($74.7billion), due to the lower oil price. The preliminary data show that Japan, which is the fourth largest crude buyer in the world, imported 2,32 million barrels of crude oil per day (134,67 million kilolitres), for the period ending March 31. The MOF reported that this was the second consecutive decline in value and volume year-over-year. The volume of Japan's LNG...

China's imports were low in the first quarter. The challenge is to determine whether this was due to temporary factors, or a deeper economic malaise. In the first quarter of 2025, the four biggest commodity imports - crude oil, iron ore coal and copper - all fell compared to 2024. The soft imports can be explained by the fact that the second largest economy in the world is still trying to gain momentum for economic growth. This task is made more difficult by the trade war escalating by U.S. president Donald Trump. This ignores some factors that are unique to...

South Africa's currency, the rand, fell to its lowest level in 18 months Monday. Local stocks also plunged and then recovered as financial markets were shaken by fears of a global recession due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The rand was trading at 19.31 per dollar, down 1% since Friday's closing, and its lowest level since October 2023. Trump did not show any signs of rescinding his tariff plans Sunday and on Monday, investors flocked to safe-haven currencies such as the Swiss franc and yen. The emerging market index is heading for the biggest one-day drop since 2008's global financial...

China's iron and steel sector is caught between the expectation that conditions will improve and the reality of much of the data that currently exists. This dynamic was highlighted by the National Bureau of Statistics' data released on Monday, which showed a decline in China's investment, sales and property prices. Data from January-February showed that property sales and investment fell by 9.8% and 5.1% respectively year-on-year. New construction started dropped by 29.6% after a drop of 23.0% in 2024. The new home price fell by 4.8% from the previous year in February, adding to data that showed that Beijing's efforts...

China's coal exports increased 2.1% in the past year, according to official data released on Friday. The import arbitrage was still open, despite the risks that could affect the outlook of imports. China releases data for both months together to reduce the impact of Lunar New Year which can fall in either month. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that imports from January to February were 76.12 millions metric tons. This is up from 74.52million tons the previous year. Two major industry groups last week called for limits on coal imports from China, especially low-quality coals, due to...

Beijing has largely promised to continue the mild stimulus policy seen last year. The news that the United States and Canada have agreed to a 5% economic growth goal and promised to increase consumption as well as deal with any negative effects of the trade war, were positive. The parliament meeting of this week was also far short of any sort of announcements of stimuli that could have given commodity markets confidence that China, as the largest buyer of natural resources in the world, will see a meaningful increase in imports by 2025. What's likely to happen is that the...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

Industry officials have said that India's thermal imports will fall in 2025 for the second consecutive year due to a decreasing reliance on coal as a power source, slowed economic activity, and record-high inventories. The six Indian and foreign coal traders who spoke at the Coaltrans India Conference in New Delhi all expected that shipments would decline this year. Three traders predicted that imports would plummet by about 10%, to 155 million tons. Two traders predicted a drop of 1-2% while the third forecasted a decline of 7-8%. The traders did not want to be named as they weren't authorised...

Five industry officials have said that the United States will increase coal exports to India following China's tariffs on U.S. energy imports. This could lead to a decline in Australia and Russia’s market share in India. China's Finance Ministry announced last week that it would impose a 15% tax on the import of U.S. Coal. The officials claimed this could force U.S. miner to ship coal to India, the second largest coal importer in the world behind China. "Three U.S. shipments that were meant to go to China are now in India, and another 10 shipments are awaiting." "These are...

After Beijing retaliated to President Donald Trump’s tariffs by imposing its own measures, the trade between China and the United States in crude oil and liquefied gas is now effectively dead. China, which is the largest importer of three energy commodities in the world, imposed import duties on Tuesday of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG, and 10% for crude oil and farm machinery. Beijing made its move after the Trump administration imposed a 10% additional tariff on all Chinese imports into the United States. The 10% tax was less than the 60% Trump had threatened during his last-year campaign...

China's iron ore imports and seaborne coal arrivals are expected to be soft in the first quarter, with January arrivals falling to multi-month lows. The price trend for two of the most important bulk commodities is divergent. Iron ore has held steady, while thermal coal has fallen to its lowest level in almost four years. According to Kpler, commodity analysts, China is the largest iron ore purchaser in the world. It will import 99.5 millions metric tons of this key raw material for steel in January. This would be a drop from the official December customs figure, which was 112.5...

There are two ways of taking a look at the 1.7% decrease in China's steel output last year. The first is that it confirms that the world's largest producer of the key commercial metal is now in a developed downtrend, and even more weakness is likely this year. The second is that the steel industry is actually remarkably resilient in the face of major financial challenges, and that output has been essentially flat at extremely strong levels for the previous 5 years. Both are basically factual, and show the classic glass half-full or half-empty predicament. On the half-empty side of...