Arch to Acquire International Coal for Steelmaking Assets

Arch Coal Inc.’s $3.4 billion acquisition of International Coal Group Inc. will make it the second-largest U.S. coking-coal producer at a time when prices are soaring amid demand from China and India.

Benchmark prices for metallurgical coal have risen 47 percent to a record $330 a metric ton for the three months starting April 1, boosted by consumption from Asia as Australia, the world’s largest producer, recovers from torrential rains and flooding.