Too early to uncork champagne, but suppliers have some reason to be bubbly

摘要

It's too early to attach any significance, but after a lengthy swoon, the futures market for Eastern barge coal took an upward turn this past week as settlements on the Central Appalachian Coal contract at the New York Mercantile Exchange generally favored suppliers. After five days of trading - especially on the back of a three-day roll prior to U.S. Coal Review's press time - prices for the fourth quarter of 2007 and beyond were back above the 50 dollars mark. There was some positive momentum in the nearer term as well, though the spot price still has not managed to make it to 45 dollars.