BHP Says Coking Coal Price To Be Supported By Slow Restarts
September 16 2009 - 2:01AM
Dow Jones News
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said Wednesday coking coal prices
should be supported by the lead times involved in bringing back on
idled capacity.
China has recently emerged as an importer of coking coal,
filling the demand gap caused by a global slowdown in buying by
traditional customers, and this has in part been driven by the
closure of domestic Chinese mines.
In a slide from a presentation to be delivered to analysts, BHP
said the lead time for idled restarts should restrict coking coal
supply and support prices.
BHP said Chinese steel mills are building bigger blast furnaces
to improve productivity and that these would require better quality
coke and therefore more high quality hard coking coal.
BHP, together with joint venture partner Mitsubishi Corp.
(8058.TO), is the world's biggest producer of coking coal for the
seaborne market.
The miner said it expects global steel demand to double over the
next 15 years and that China will remain a major opportunity for
iron ore while coking coal demand growth will come from both India
and China.
The world is set to be short on copper in the medium to long
term, BHP said, and while scrap will gain market share, import
demand for copper concentrate and cathode is set to grow.
Similarly, BHP said it believes the world will be short on
energy in the medium to long term, with demand being driven by
emerging market growth.
-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094;
alex.wilson@dowjones.com