Market downturn forces Arch Coal to file for bankruptcy
The second largest US coal producer Arch Coal has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, having finally buckled under a heavy debt load while it failed to turn a quarterly profit since 2013, as coal prices fell.
The company’s operational success was closely linked to global demand for coal-fuelled electricity and steel and its average sales price fell 19% from the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter last year, as coal came under increasing pressure from stricter pollution controls, falling demand from China and increasing competition from natural gas.