* Oct DES ARA trades at $90.25
* Colombia rail, mine workers threaten strike
LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) – Physical prompt coal prices were
again little changed on Tuesday although stronger oil gave some
support in earlier trading.
Oversupply is likely to continue through the year, with a
very slow reduction in the surplus, as producers trim output and
brace themselves for a period of stagnant prices.
While an event that would shift the market balance enough to
propel prices out of their current range cannot be ruled out, it
is extremely unlikely this year, traders and end-users said.
A spate of bomb attacks and strike threats in Colombia, one
of the world’s top five coal exporters, has had no impact on
prices because there is plenty of spot coal available.
Even if workers at Colombia’s Fenoco railway or Prodeco’s La
Jagua mine do strike as threatened, end-users said they would
welcome a delay to shipments given the current supply glut
.
“Oil was higher but fell back in the afternoon, pulling
swaps with it, but there were no big moves in other markets to
affect coal,” one European trader said.
Continued…
