...Near-Term Price Recovery Unlikely Fitch Ratings projects metallurgical (met) coal prices will remain weak over the near term, increasing only gradually as market oversupply recedes. Met coal prices have continued to fall in early 2016, with benchmark hard coking coal contracts settling at $81/tonne for the first quarter. This represents an over 30% decline from the $117/tonne price negotiated for the first quarter of 2015 and an over 75% decline from the peak at $330/tonne in mid-2011. North American supply has been rationalized, owing to a string of coal company bankruptcies, but continued production out of Australia is likely to offset these cuts and prevent any meaningful reduction to global supply in the short term. Weak Chinese Demand Fitch expects Chinese coal demand will remain weak for the next several years as the nation slows its consumption of foreign commodities in favor of domestic producers. Chinese imports of metallurgical coal declined over 20% in 2015 due to weak steel...
