Indian steelmaker JSW Steel may restart its metallurgical coal operations in the US due to the recent run-up in prices, Kallanish learns from local media sources.

JSW could restart its West Virginia metallurgical coal mines as early as March, company executives have said. The company owns about 123 million tonnes of metallurgical coal reserves in nine mines.

US steel prices are experiencing an across-the-board push north, largely due to rising raw material prices. Some buy-side sources have expressed concern that weak underlying demand could make the run short-lived. Concurrent price spikes in several different raw materials however – notably metallurgical coal and scrap – are expected to buoy prices at least into the first quarter.