Buyer activity to slow down in Russian market for steam coal

摘要

The situation in the Russian steam coal market stays largely unchanged in the middle of January. Consumption hasdropped slightly in Western and Southern regions because of mild weather. Public utilities in these parts of countrysource the material from the spot market, and large power plants - under the long-term contracts mainly. Steam coaldemand is firm in the Far East and Siberia, which is quite natural for this time of year because of higher electricitygeneration. Buying will not slow down in these regions before late February.