by winston » Wed Jun 03, 2015 7:49 pm
THE GREAT BEAR MARKET IN COAL
Today's chart looks at the epic collapse in the coal sector...
Over the past five years, being long coal producers has been a painful bet. Tighter regulations and cheap natural gas prices have crushed coal demand.
China, which accounts for half of global consumption, is also cutting back on coal imports. China's coal imports from the first quarter this year were 42% lower compared with the same quarter last year.
The result has been a huge bear market in the coal sector. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. coal production will drop to a 30-year low in 2015.
You can see how bad it has gotten in the chart below. It shows the last year's share-price action in the Market Vectors Coal Fund (KOL)... a fund that holds a basket of coal producers and related stocks.
Since last September, KOL is down more than 30%... and just broke down to its lowest point in more than six years. As you can see, it's a steady bear market in coal...
Source: Daily Wealth
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"