Global demand lights fire under coal

[phantom power]

After years of stagnant demand, coal has come back to life as producers worldwide respond to rising demand from developing countries.

A tipping point came this year when China, one of the world's leading producers, for the first time became a net importer of coal.

"China's export inflection combined with continued supply problems looks very promising," said Daniel Brebner, a commodity analyst at UBS, who predicts prices for coal used to make steel will rise 20% in 2008.

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Thermal coal, or coal used to fire electricity-generation plants, is also enjoying surging demand as utilities around the world scramble to cope with skyrocketing energy use. Thermal coal used to fire European generators moved up for the fifth day to the highest price in more than two years, according to Bloomberg News.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=89f7be45-2c66-4160-98d6-7e25ed0cbc28&k=85266