Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 16.7 million st in the week ended August 26, down 1.7% from the prior week but up 9.6% from the year-ago week, Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. It was the third highest weekly estimate this year, just below last week’s year-to-date high of 17.02 million st. Coal production continues to trend higher as natural gas prices hover near $3/MMBtu and utility stockpiles continue to decline. For the recently-concluded week, coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which primarily consists of coal from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 8 million st, down 0.1% compared with last week but up 6% from the year-ago week. It was the highest weekly estimate reported so far this year. Article continues below… On an annualized basis, coal production in Wyoming and Montana would total 351.6 million st, up 6.6% from last year. In Central Appalachia, […]