BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - Coal exports from the United States are expected to jump 70 percent in 2011 because of a supply squeeze in Asia-Pacific, while a weak dollar has made U.S. cargoes more attractive, top U.S. coal exporter Xcoal Energy & Resources said.
Total coal exports to Asia from the U.S. are expected to reach 20.1 million tonnes this year after impressive growth of 250 percent in 2010 over 2009, Xcoal Chief Executive Ernie Thrasher told an industry conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
Exports to Asia began at a low base in 2009, so overall growth would be slower in 2011 than the previous year, he said.
Despite taking more than 45 days to reach Asia, coal shipments from the U.S. have surged in Japan and China over the past year because of the emergence of price arbitrage.
Faced with a demand slump in traditional European markets, many U.S. producers turned to Asia in 2009 as an alternative supply destination and were able to offer more attractive prices than Australian producers.
However, Thrasher said U.S. coking coal producers should see sustained robust demand from Asia as increasingly tight supply would continue to force steel mills to look further afield. High quality U.S. coking coal also serves as a good blending product for indigenous coal from China.
"The global coking coal market is extremely tight and it will take a number of years before new fields come into production," Thrasher said.
Privately held Xcoal exported 9.66 million tonnes of coal last year. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Chris Lewis)