Shares of Peabody Energy Jump on Rising Coal Prices
Shares of coal giant Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) are up 21.6% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT today. The surge in the company's stock comes as the reported price for seaborne metallurgical coal -- also known as coking coal -- was on the rise this week.
According to a report from Metal Bulletin, the price of free-on-board hard coking coal delivered to China increased $2.80 per metric ton to $110.43 per metric ton during the week. This is critically important for Peabody because its metallurgical coal business is one of the company's long-term value propositions. While thermal coal used in power plants is losing market share to natural gas and renewables, there are few alternatives to metallurgical coal for transforming iron ore into steel.
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Source Fool.com
