TOKYO/HONG KONG -- Floods and landslides caused when Cyclone Debbie swept across northeastern Australia last week have disrupted global coal supplies and shipments, pushing up the price of coal while pushing down the costs of surface transportation.
The cyclone has devastated the northeastern state of Queensland, the world's production hub for coking coal, a vital ingredient in steel, with floods and landslides forcing mining producers to halt operations. Rail lines connecting the region's coking coal mines to ports were damaged by landslides, pushing up the spot price of the benchmark Australian coking coal by more than $30 per ton, about a 50% increase from the end of March. As a result, coking coal prices rose above $200 per ton, while some traders said that price went as high as $240 per ton.
