Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 13.77 million st in the week that ended Saturday, down 5% from the prior week but up 19.9% from the same week a year ago, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. It was the lowest weekly estimate so far this year, coming in just below the Week 1 estimate of 13.78 million st. Through the first 14 weeks of the year, production appears to be mirroring last year, which started with a surge at the start of the year then dipped through spring as low natural gas prices curtailed coal demand. This year, natural gas prices are higher but coal demand remains low due to more-moderate temperatures. Platts Analytics’ Bentek Energy estimates stockpiles stood at 159.6 million st as of Thursday, down 18.2% from the year-ago week and down 4.1% from the five-year average for March. Article continues below… Platts Coal […]