Chinese Coal Prices Have Further to Fall as Glencore Mulls Cuts

China’s coal slump is likely to persist for several months, weighing on a global market that has seen mining giant Glencore Plc forced to consider output cuts after prices dropped to near their lowest this decade.

The Asian nation is coal’s biggest producer and consumer, and has worked hard to stockpile enough of the fuel to prevent the economy-crippling blackouts of recent years. But record domestic production and imports have coincided with a slowing economy, creating a glut and pushing local prices for heating coal to near a four-year low.