COAL – PRICES

BHP sees bleak iron ore future

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Nov-15

The price of iron ore has shed 16 per cent in the last eight weeks, reaching a low of $US49.50 per tonne on 2 November 2015. Alan Chirgwin of BHP Billiton is bearish about the outlook for the steel input, forecasting that it will keep falling in the next several years and eventually trade at the break-even price of an unspecified iron ore producer in Australia or Brazil. He expects supply to continue to exceed demand in the next several years. BHP’s Shaun Verner also expects the price of metallurgical coal to remain subdued in the near-term.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Goods prices tipped to bottom out

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 24-Jul-15

The iron ore price is currently trading at around $US51.76 per tonne, while thermal coal is fetching $US60.45 a tonne and crude oil is trading at $US56.11 per barrel. A report from the World Bank forecasts that the prices of all three commodities will remain subdued for the remainder of 2015, although an upturn is expected in 2016. Iron ore is forecast to average $US55 per tonne in 2015, before rising to $US56.70 in 2016.

CORPORATES
WORLD BANK, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Coal royalties plunge $3b in Queensland

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 25-Jun-15

Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt says the State Government will achieve an operating surplus in the next four years. However, the July 2015 Budget will include a $A2.988bn write-down of mining royalties over four years, due primarily to the slump in global coal prices. Pitt notes that state revenue will be bolstered by Queensland’s booming residential property market, and says the first-home owners grant will be retained in 2015-16.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Coal M&A on hold as price falls predicted

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 17-Jun-15

Anglo American, Vale and Peabody Energy are among the companies that are believed to be keen to sell some of their coal mines in Australia. Coal Ventures director Bede Boyle suggests that New Hope Coal, Glencore and private equity firms are the most likely contenders to buy coal assets. However, Marian Hookham of IHS Coal says many potential buyers appear to be biding their time on expectations of further weakness in the price of coal.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, VALE SA, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, GLENCORE PLC, INTERNATIONAL COAL VENTURES LIMITED, IHS COAL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, ITOCHU CORPORATION, SUMISHO COAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Rio chief says coal price slump to last

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 11-May-15

The price of thermal coal has fallen to around $US63 per tonne, compared with $US150 in 2011. Rio Tinto executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques is bearish about the outlook for thermal coal, forecasting that the price may not recover for 3-4 years. The head of the group’s coal division says his main aim at present is to ensure that all of Rio’s coal mines continue to be cash-flow positive. He has downplayed suggestions that Rio could exit the coal business, but says any asset would be for sale at the right price.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Glencore takes aim at iron ore giants

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-15

Glencore will reduce its coal production in Australia by 15 million tonnes in 2015. CEO Ivan Glasenberg says the decision to reduce output by around 15 per cent was made because the group does not want to be seen to have forced coal prices lower due to oversupply. Glasenberg has previously criticised BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto for expanding their iron ore production at a time prices have fallen sharply

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA

Coal prices ‘unlikely’ to recover in 2015

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 20-Feb-15

ANZ Bank analysts Mark Pervan and Rajneet Kaur are bearish about the long-term outlook for the price of coal. ANZ has downgraded its forecast for coking coal to $US115 per tonne at the end of 2015 and $US130/per tonne at the end of 2018. It is currently trading at around $US117/tonne. Australia exported $A22.9bn worth of coking coal in 2013

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

$2 sale adds to gloom in ailing coal sector

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Oct-14

The benchmark price for metallurgical coal negotiated by Japanese steel producers with Australian mining groups has been set at $US119 a tonne for the final three months of calendar 2014. This compares with a peak of $US330 in 2011 and is a low last seen in 2008. The slump has already triggered widespread redundancies in Queensland by companies such as BHP Billiton. The malaise in the sector has now also been underlined by a deal in which Up Energy Development Group will pay just $US2 to Marubeni and Winsway Enterprises to acquire Grande Cache Coal in Canada

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UP ENERGY DEVELOPMENT GROUP LIMITED, GRANDE CACHE COAL CORPORATION, WINSWAY COKING COAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, MARUBENI CORPORATION, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, VALE SA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Mining wages too high, says Mitsui

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 26-Sep-14

Mitsui Australia CEO Yasushi Takahashi has questioned whether the nation’s high wages in the mining sector are sustainable. He argues that productivity needs to improve in order to justify the high labour costs relative to other resources-rich countries. Meanwhile, Takahashi expects the price of coal and iron ore to begin to recover by the end of 2014, and he suggests that the oversupply of iron ore could potentially be over by 2017

CORPORATES
MITSUI AND COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX SGM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Iron ore, coal tipped for gradual recovery

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 16 : 4-Aug-14

Mark Pervan, global head of commodity strategy at ANZ Banking, says the recent rapid fall in the prices of coal and iron ore may have reached its nadir. However he also warns that the turnaround may occur at a slower pace than that seen during previous cycles. Similar sentiments have been voiced by Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of global steel producer ArcelorMittal. Pervan predicts the coal price per tonne to rise to between $US115 and $US120 by late 2014, and that of iron ore to almost $US100

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ARCELOR MITTAL SA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD