Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Coal: too many grave problems' and obstacles

Journal Article · · Commod. J.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6049975
A rebuttal to the article, Coal: A Commodity for Futures Trading, is presented. The author points out that although the question put forth in the title of the article is a legitimate one, nearly 90 percent of coal production is under long-term contracts or complete control of the user. This fact, by itself, appears to make futures trading a remote possibility, and additionally, there are at least four problems that mitigate against trading coal futures: (1) government policies and regulations that conflict with each other; (2) the fact that coal is not a universal fuel and can only be used economically in large quantities by large facilities; (3) it is impossible from a practical standpoint to standardize coal as a trading unit because of the various types of coal and the lack of control base so that traders would know exactly what they are buying and selling; and (4) the cost and capabilities of transportation are prohibitive and make up too large a part of coals overall cost. (JMT)
Research Organization:
New Hampshire Technical Inst., Concord
OSTI ID:
6049975
Journal Information:
Commod. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Commod. J.; (United States) Vol. 14:2; ISSN COMJD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Bidding strategies that minimize risk with options and futures contracts
Conference · Wed Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1998 · OSTI ID:319012

Guide to world coal markets. [Survey of 15 countries]
Book · Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1983 · OSTI ID:6514674

Authors' reply. [Sulfur standards in Maine]
Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982 · J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5010336