US coal industry earnings to fall in 2014, but outlook stable: Moody's

摘要

Although the US coal industry's 2014 earnings are expected to decline modestly as more lucrative contracts roll off and metallurgical coal prices remain low, the outlook for producers remains stable, Moody's Investors Service said in a report Wednesday. “We expect production volumes to rise by 2% to 3% next year off the 2013 trough of a little over 1 billion st,” Moody's Vice President-Senior Analyst Anna Zubets-Anderson said. “Coal's share of electricity generation will approach 40% through mid-2015, but thereafter will trend lower as coal plants retire and new investment turns to natural gas and renewable capacity.”