U.S. met coal producers: They're sitting in the driver's seat and raking in the dough

摘要

This has been a year filled with pleasant surprises for U.S. metallurgical coal exporters, and 2008 promises more of the same. In a typical year the world watches and waits for the Australian majors, usually led by BHP Billiton, to meet with Japanese steelmakers and hammer out a benchmark price for hard metallurgical coal. This year, in the early days of autumn no less, U.S. met coal exporters are negotiating their own benchmark prices with European steel companies, and it would appear that the FY2008 prices are handsome, indeed.