Coal Climbs to Two-Year High as Australian Floods Curb Supplies
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Coal rose to a two-year high as rains and flooding disrupt supplies from Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of the fuel.
Floods in the state of Queensland have covered an area the size of France and Germany, forcing mines to shut. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, and Rio Tinto Group have declared so-called force majeure. Australia shipped 259 million metric tons of coking coal for steel and thermal coal for power generation in 2009, according to data on the World Coal Association’s website.