US coal production slipped for the fourth consecutive week in the week ending September 16, but at 15.5 million st it was still 7.2% higher than in the same week of 2016, Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. Coal has benefited from a rebound in exports as well as a slight reduction in natural gas output. Natural gas overtook thermal coal as the major supplier for US power generation in 2016, but in the first six months of the year, US natural gas marketed production was down 1.8% on the January-June 2016 total to 13.95 MMcf, EIA data showed. The weekly thermal coal production data showed output fell from the week ending September 9 in three of the four main production hubs. Output only strengthened in Wyoming and Montana, the largest region by volume, as production in the week ending September 16 (week 37) rose 0.4% week on week […]