labourer searches for usable coal at a cinder dump site on the outskirts of Changzhi, Shanxi province October 27, 2009. Thermal coal, the first energy market to go into a tailspin in 2011, has turned around with prices rallying for much of this year on an unexpected jump in imports from top consumer China that some analysts say will underpin sentiments further. Coal prices crashed 70 percent over 2011 and 2015, to the lowest since the early 2000s, as analysts like the International Energy Agency and Goldman Sachs said China’s imports had peaked on measures to combat pollution and a move away from power-intensive industries. But contrary to expectations, global coal prices have soared 30-60 percent this year as producers trimmed supply on demand worries. Both Australian physical coal prices and European futures are back above $60 per tonne and at their highest levels since the first half of […]