Coal of Africa - Re: CZA Stream Log - World’s No. 1 miner BHP...

World’s No. 1 miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE: BHP) (LON: BLT) said Wednesday it expected demand for coal to keep growing over the next 20 years, despite prices are likely to remain low for a while, as a consequence of oversupply. Speaking at The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Brisbane, the company’s coal chief, Dean Dalla Valle, said he expects most demand growth to come from outside China, which has been the primary driver of global commodity prices in recent years. The nation currently accounts for about 50% of the world's coal consumption. “Over the next couple of decades we expect global growth in demand for both energy coal and metallurgical coal," he said. Although "the likes of India, a country not overly endowed with metallurgical coal, [is] anticipated to be the most significant source of new demand" for coal used in steelmaking, Dalla Valle added. When it comes to prices for the commodity, however, the executive provided a rather grim outlook, as China, the US, Canada and Russia have been flooding the steel-making market, and new player Indonesia has swamped the energy market, causing prices to plummet. "It's tough out there. It's hard to see any relief in the short term certainly when you have such strong supply," he said.