Welcome, Guest |
Login |
Stock markets around the globe are up significantly in the wake of the U.S. “fiscal cliff” deal. Many stocks are benefiting, even those with seemingly indirect links to the U.S. and its fiscal woes. One Chinese stock is up more than 6%, but questions persist for the company.
Iron Ore (IO) has run from $86 per ton to $122 per ton with expectations that prices will hold at this elevated level. According senior resource analyst at Mine Life Pty in Sydney, Gavin Wendt told Bloomberg Network “Prices will stay about where they are now until 2013,”
While the declining price of natural gas (UNG, quote) has driven coal (KOL, quote) down to record low levels of usage in the United States, consumption in emerging market countries such as China is increasing.
Wednesday’s best web looks at Mongolia’s glut of natural resources, an agreement between Brazil and Russia to swap currencies, President Zuma’s plan to ‘transform’ the South African economy, America Movil’s valuation, and the pipeline deal between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Always remember that when people talk about coal, they really mean one of two very different commodities. There’s thermal coal, which is still in retreat as Australian mines recover from last year’s floods. And then there’s coal used in steel.
Like natural gas, coal is an energy sector that has suffered from declining growth around the world, particularly in China.
Coal and coal-producers have been hit hard over the past year as a glut of natural gas in North America drives utility switching, and slower growth in China threatens demand.
