Coal markets have been taking the pulse of China during and after the Olympics and Paralympics that ended Sept. 17, curtailing industrial growth to its slowest pace since 2000. Amid the turmoil on Wall Street, the drop in commodity prices and slowdown during the games, analysts are re-examining the fundamentals underpinning coal markets, with special attention to metallurgical demand that would go down if steel production is reduced. At the National Coal Transportation Association fall conference this month, two speakers addressed those concerns, saying a China slowdown still translates to growth. Peabody Chief Executive Gregory Boyce heard that concern at the Lehman Brothers CEO Energy Conference, but Fred Palmer, senior vice president of government relations for Peabody, expressed confidence in China's growth prospects. China was able to grow earlier this decade despite the US slowdown post-2001 and has 1.8 trillion dollars in reserves it can spend to stimulate its economy, Palmer said.
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