(MENAFN) The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that the country's coal exports might hit 125 million tons in 2012, driven by growing exports of steam coal, reported Xinhua News.
The amount is the highest since 1981, when the country's exports of coal reached 113 million tons.
In the January-June period, coal exports reached around 67 million tons, whereas they averaged 56 million tons a year in the decade to 2011.
Exports declined through the 1990s, reaching their lowest point since 1961, at just under 40 million tons in 2002.
Nevertheless, export growth has stepped up following the recent recession, with consecutive post-2009 growth of over 20 million tons on annual basis.
It is worth noting that in June, US coal exports, comprising steam coal for power and metallurgical coal for making steel, reached 13 million tons, exceeding April's record-setting monthly amount by 200,000 tons.
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