Hard Coal 2018

Any attempt to look ahead at the likely economic developments in 2019 must necessarily take into account a number of significant political events, some with potentially disruptive consequences. The first of these would be the trade disputes arising between the USA and other countries, most notably China, the hope being that these matters will soon be resolved. Another no less problematic issue for the European Union is Brexit, where the current negotiations seem at present to point to a less optimistic outcome. There are now fears of a recession because of these threats and because we may well be nearing the end of a long period of growth in many parts of the world. While any assess ment of the German hard coal market also has to get an idea of the general economic developments, it is in fact more important to examine how the recommendations of the Coal Commission are being implemented at a political level. Looking back we can see that hard coal is already being subjected to disruptive development, to use that now familiar buzzword. Given that CO2 emissions have fallen significantly as a result of the marked downturn in hard coal consumption the German Coal Importer Association (VDKi) in Berlin/Germany expects the German government to ensure that hard coal does not bear the brunt of the capacity adjustments. © 2019, Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. All rights reserved.