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Don’t believe the spin: coal is no longer essential to produce steel
The Australian government’s March 2024 Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ) report highlights declining world trade for metallurgical coal, with mounting risks to its outlook. Australian metallurgical coal exports are forecast to peak in two years’ time and then decline out to the end of the decade.
Despite this, Australian governments are parroting misleading mining industry spin conflating metallurgical coal demand with the need for steel to build renewable energy infrastructure. India is the world’s key steel demand growth market, and the new REQ sees its metallurgical coal imports rising out to 2029, albeit at a lower rate than the March 2023 forecast. Last month S&P Global Ratings warned that high metallurgical coal prices could maintain or even increase Indian steelmakers’ debt levels for longer than previously anticipated.
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