A worker drives an open truck full of coal before unloading it inside a warehouse in Tondo city, metro Manila January 11, 2016. Asian thermal coal prices are set to come under pressure as a mild December in the Northern Hemisphere caps heating demand and China shuts power stations, factories, and even ports in a desperate fight against rampant smog. Coal markets had some of the steepest price rises on record earlier this year, with Australian Newcastle cargo prices gaining almost two-thirds within two months to over $114 per ton by the start of November after Chinese authorities capped domestic coal mining, sending utilities scrambling for imports. But prices started falling from mid-November after China’s mining caps were loosened and an early winter cold snap eased. Now, traders say coal could come under more pressure despite the start of the peak demand winter months. “Import arbitrage on the Chinese […]