The continued closure of the Port of Baltimore prompted the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to sharply lower US coal export forecasts on Tuesday.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Port of Baltimore is the second-largest coal transportation hub in the US. The continued closure of the port prompted the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to lower US coal export forecasts for April and May by 33% and 20%, respectively, on Tuesday.
The EIA previously expected coal transportation volume to increase by about 1% to 100.8 million tons this year, but after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March this year, leading to the closure of the port, the EIA now expects exports to drop 6% to 94.5 million tons.
“We expect US coal exports to resume in late summer and early fall, but the schedule for port reopening is highly uncertain,” the EIA said.
Coal exports have been rising in recent years as US domestic utilities have switched to clean fuels, making the international market critical to US companies, and the Port of Baltimore accounted for 28% of US exports last year.
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