Russian experts forecast a further price increase in the Russian coking coal market in 2008. The main reason they cite is the reduction in national coking coal production due to the occurrence of several accidents at Russian coking coal mines in 2007.
In first ten months of 2007 production capacities at Evraz's Yuzhkuzbassugol's two mines - Yulyanovskaya and Yubileynaya - were reduced by about one fourth, while production capacity at Severstal's Vorkutaugol mine fell by 12.5 percent, due to accidents which occurred at the mines in question.
The decrease in coking coal output has caused a scarcity of this material in the Russian domestic market, thereby resulting in an increase in prices. The average price for coking coal in the Russian domestic market is expected to rise to about $90/mt in 2008.