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There's no futures symbol because coal is inherently worth different values based on location. It's a solid, it doesn't spoil (sometimes it spontaneously combus
by diffraction 10y ago
There's no futures symbol because coal is inherently worth different values based on location. It's a solid, it doesn't spoil (sometimes it spontaneously combusts), you need a whole lot of it to do anything useful. These difficulties fragment the market. For example there are futures for: Australia coal, South Africa coal, Wyoming powder basin coal, Illinois basin coal, etc. It is transported by train or on a dry bulk ship.
- pjc50 10y agoWell, the same is roughly true of oil although it's a little harder to store and ship. There's at least two futures markets (Brent and WTI), various oil grades etc. People seem happier assigning a single "oil price" despite local variation.