Coal Mines, Ports Reopen in Australia as Yasi Moves Inland and WeakensBy Ben Sharples
Coal and metals mines, railroads and ports are reopening in Queensland after suffering
minimal damage yesterday from Tropical Cyclone Yasi, the first Category 5 storm to strike the Australian state since 1918.
“Weather conditions such as this will certainly hamper efforts by the coal mining industry in Australia to recover from the devastating floods of last month,†Deutsche Bank AG analysts led by Daniel Brebner said yesterday in a report. “This will probably
keep both coking coal and thermal coal markets tight for the balance of the quarter.â€
Yasi will likely be
followed by more cyclones as La Nina boosts the number of tropical storms, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. La Nina, characterized by a cooling of temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, is generally associated with
above-normal winter, spring and summer rain in eastern and northern Australia.
Coking coal contract prices
may rise as much as 78 percent next quarter on disruptions from flooding in Australia, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Australian hard prime spot coking coal sold for $330 a metric ton on average in the week to Jan. 28 from $320 the week before, according to Petersfield, England-based researcher HIS McCloskey.
Sugarcane plantations may
lose 50 percent of production potential, said grower’s group Canegrowers, which begins an assessment of the crop damage today. Losses to the industry could be at least A$500 million ($507 million), it said.
Rail networks that service about 38 percent of coal-port capacity on Australia’s east coast reopened yesterday, according to QR National. Four coal trains arrived at Darymple Bay since 3 a.m. this morning, Greg Smith, general manager of operations at the export terminal, said by phone.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-0 ... akens.html
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"