[miningmx.com] – GLOBAL coal demand was forecast to grow 2.1% a year from last year until 2019, said Business Day citing a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Metallurgical coal prices will rise 1.8% a year, it said.
Rising Chinese demand would more than offset declining growth from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, said Business Day.
Citing the IEA’s comments on future production levels, Business Day said output from South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal would increase to 75 million tonnes coal equivalent (mtce, which equates different coal qualities to a standard quality of 7,000 kilocalories) by 2019, up from 69-mtce in 2013.
“This increase in exports will be limited by rising domestic demand. Exports will shift more and more towards the Pacific Basin, following price signals,” the IEA said.
The IEA forecasts sub-Saharan coal production would rise to about 325-mtce by 2040, with other countries in the region, led by Mozambique, boosting production even faster than South Africa.
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