source: Market watch

Anglo Australian mining firm BHP Billiton expects coking coal to become scarcer than iron ore over the next decade because the latter is experiencing less supply growth than the former. Coking coal, used for steel production, is a major export of Mongolia and is chiefly supplied to China.

“We are more bearish about iron ore than coking coal,” said Marcus Randolph during the annual World Steel Association conference. “Between now and 2020, there is going to be a lot more iron ore supply coming into the market than coking coal, and our expectation is that of the two, the scarcer over that period of time will be coking coal.”

He also affirmed previous BHP comments that the company has not experienced any cancellations or order delays from Chinese customers purchasing iron ore or coking coal.