Posted 8/31/2005 08:58 AM
| Several reached 52-week highs as the status of
the country's natural gas supply remained uncertain.
Story by The Associated Press
Major coal stocks have surged to near or above their 52-week highs
as the status of the country's natural gas supply remained
uncertain in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
| Natural gas prices
reached record levels on the New York Mercantile
Exchange Tuesday after companies with a Gulf Coast
presence said they had either shut down or cut back
operations there and that disruptions could continue
through Thursday. The Gulf of Mexico normally
produces about 10 billion cubic feet a day of
natural gas. About 17 percent of U.S. electricity is
generated from natural gas-fired power plants,
compared with more than 50 percent by coal-fired
plants.
But coal-fired plants are running at full
capacity during the peak-demand summer months, so
some analysts say it wouldn't be until the fall that
coal could pick up some of the slack if natural gas
deliveries have some long term problems.
Shares of Peabody Energy, the country's largest
coal producer, and Arch Coal set new 52-week highs
yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. So did
shares of Massey Energy, the top coal producer in
Central Appalachia.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press.
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