Investors dump coal stocks
Coal stocks got hammered Wednesday as investors in Canadian companies followed an international trend and sold off the shares.
Canadian coal stocks got hammered Wednesday as investors followed an international trend and sold off shares.
A drop in coal prices of $20 a tonne, or about 10 per cent, was behind the nosediving shares.
Stock declines in Toronto, between 11 and 16 per cent, were larger than those in New York or London.
Units of Fording Coal, the leading Canadian producer, closed down $15.60 or 16.2 per cent at $81.70 in TSX trading.
Western Canadian Coal Corp. fell 10.7 per cent or 96 cents to $8, and Grande Cache Coal Corp. lost 15.9 per cent or $1.36 to $7.21.
In London, a number of major producers closed down about five per cent, including BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Anglo American and Rio Tinto.