Source: Don't be mistaken, 2008 contract decisions weren't so cut and dry

摘要

It's easy to second guess producers who didn't get coal under contract when the opportunity was available to do anything from maybe 100 dollars/ to 120 dollars/ton. Lots of us will sit around in the bar, pat each other on our shoulders, and offer reminders of how smart and handsome we are. "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered," we'll say, and we'll order another round. But contract decisions weren't at all cut and dry in 2008, a source said, and it's a mistake to think otherwise. When the spot market was at circa 150 dollars, the very best term price a producer might have gotten was about 120 dollars, and that wasn't universally available.