NHÌN BIỂU ĐỒ GIÁ THAN THẾ GIỚI CỨ THẲNG TIẾN NHƯ THẾ , THÌ CHỈ MUỐN GIỮ ANH BÉO NÀY MÃI





[h1]China Spurs Coal-Price Surge[/h1]
Once-Huge Exporter
Now Drains Supply;
Repeat of Oil's Rise?
By SHAI OSTER in Beijing and ANN DAVIS in Houston
February 12, 2008;PageA1

China is doing for coal what it once did for oil: pushing prices to new highs, adding more pressure to the creaking global economy.


China has long been a huge supplier of coal to itself and the rest of the world. But in the first half of last year, it imported more than it exported for the first time, setting off a near-doubling of most coal prices around the world. The capper came in late January when a winter of punishing snowstorms and power shortages led Beijing to suspend coal exports for at least two months.





Just since then, Asian prices have shot up an additional 34%. Last week, coal benchmarks hit all-time highs in the U.S., Europe and Asia. That's adding to orries over global inflation already stoked by rising prices for everything from crude oil to cattle feed. "The velocity of the change has been remarkable," says Thomas Hoffman, senior vice president for external affairs for U.S.-based coal supplier Consol Energy Inc., which he says is considering holding off on some commitments to supply coal to see if prices rise even further