July 8, 2021
The U.S. Energy Department’s July outlook reports American coal production will increase by 15 percent this year. That would is the largest increase in production of coal since at least 1990 and nearly double the 8 percent increase projected in May, when the economic rebound from the was still in earlier stages of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bloomberg reported that the increase in demand for coal comes as more extreme temperatures drive power demand just as extensive drought cuts output from hydropower dams. That prompts utilities to burn more coal, a pattern also exacerbated by high natural gas prices. At the same time, key exporters including Australia and Colombia face supply problems that have helped lift global prices to a 10-year high and added to international demand for U.S. coal exports.