Output still lags last year’s levels

U.S. coal production totaled approximately 20.1 million short tons during the week ended July 14, up 11.4 percent from the previous week and up 0.6% from the same period in 2011, the Energy Information Administration said in a report.

Coal mines west of the Mississippi River generated 11.8 million tons during the week, while production east of the Mississippi was an estimated 8.3 million tons, the EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in a weekly production update.

Despite the recent uptick, U.S. coal production so far this year, at 542 million tons, was down 5.7% from the same period in 2011, the EIA said.

Coal from Central Appalachia averaged $59.90 per ton during the most recent reporting week, up 6.7% from $56.10 the previous week, according to EIA data. In Nymex futures trading, Central Appalachian coal futures for August delivery settled at $55.73 per ton on July 20, down 1.7 percent from $56.67 at the end of the previous week.

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