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Weekly US coal production dips 4.4% as coal demand slows

https://www.chemnet.com   Mar 24,2017 Platts
Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 14.1 million st in the week that ended March 18, down 4.4% compared with the prior week, but up 6.9% from the year-ago week, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday.

Apart from the holiday-shortened week at the start of the year, the most recent estimate was the lowest so far this year.

Warmer-than-normal weather has slowed demand for coal, and stockpiles remain relatively flat. Platts Analytics' Bentek Energy unit estimates stockpiles stood at 154.8 million st in the week that ended March 16, down 0.5% compared with the previous week.

Based on EIA estimates through the first 11 weeks of the year, annualized US coal production in 2017 would total 817 million st, up 10.6% compared with 2016's total. In the most recent week, coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which primarily consists of coal from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 5.98 million st, down 2.2% compared with the prior week, but up 8% from the year-ago week.

On an annualized basis, coal production in Wyoming and Montana would total 342 million st, up 3.6% from last year.

In Central Appalachia, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 1.48 million st, down 1.3% from the previous week, but up 0.1% from last year. The region's annualized 2017 production would total 83.7 million st, up 8.8% from last year.

In Northern Appalachia, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2.1 million st, the lowest estimate so far this year, down 6.3% from a week earlier, but up 12.7% from the year-ago week. Annualized production would total 122.5 million st, up 17.6% from last year.

In the Illinois Basin, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2 million st, down 2.8% from the prior reporting period, but up 4% from last year. Annualized production would total 114.8 million st, up 13.4% from 2016.
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