According to Bloomberg, the investment bank added that the closures were needed to offset Australia’s growing export volumes and the completion of new projects in key supply regions.
Goldman has forecasted hard coking coal prices to remain at about $US120 a tonne in 2014 and to increase to $133/t next year.
The investment bank estimated that the Australian coal industry’s capacity cuts over the past 18 months equated to about 21 million tonnes, or 8% of the country’s annual seaborne supply.
The production-cutting impacts will be felt more markedly in the September quarter, Goldman reportedly said.
“Recovery back to sustainable prices will be more gradual than previously expected, Goldman Sachs says in an e-mailed report,”Bloomberg reported.
