THE WORLD PRICE OF COAL

A significant increase in the seaborne trade for coal over the past 20 years has unified formerly separate coal markets into a world market in which prices move in tandem. By virtue of its large domestic market , the USA has become the residual supplier and price setter in the wor ld coal market. Changes in multifactor productivity have been the prim ary cause of the long-term fluctuations in coal prices that have been observed in the USA since the end of the Second World War and in the w orld coal market.