At Davenport event, coal executives focus on steam price recovery, talk about long-term strategies

摘要

The March 31 Davenport & Company Coal Roundtable in Richmond, VA, produced a plethora of news and views. Here are a few items of interest: International Coal Group CEO Ben Hatfield said natural gas prices could delay a Central Appalachia price recovery from very early in the second half - which ICG thinks many of the fundamentals suggest - to later in the third quarter. A price spike probably will occur in 2011, Hatfield said. ICG would not contract forward at today's prices and is "bidding substantially higher" than the transparent market," admittedly not getting business. Hatfield thinks many other producers are taking a similar approach. ICG has about 50 percent of its coal priced for 2011 and would like to be closer to 85 percent by the end of the year, but is content to wait, especially since its remaining amount of un-priced steam coal is low. As for taking business in the 50s dollars and low-60s dollars: "That's damaging value. It's way too early to sell at those prices."