Quarterly Prices for Met Coal
Steelmaking input costs - historic price trends
| Year | Quarter | Price, $/ton |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 | 117.4 |
| 2010 | 2 | 143.7 |
| 2010 | 3 | 162.5 |
| 2010 | 4 | 160.6 |
| 2011 | 1 | 170.4 |
| 2011 | 2 | 191.2 |
| 2011 | 3 | 201.6 |
| 2011 | 4 | 181.4 |
| 2012 | 1 | 169 |
| 2012 | 2 | 157.2 |
| 2012 | 3 | 148 |
| 2012 | 4 | 131.1 |
| 2013 | 1 | 119.4 |
| 2013 | 2 | 119.2 |
| 2013 | 3 | 111.9 |
| 2013 | 4 | 110.7 |
| 2014 | 1 | 105.6 |
| 2014 | 2 | 96.7 |
| 2014 | 3 | 95 |
| 2014 | 4 | 95.5 |
| 2015 | 1 | 94.8 |
| 2015 | 2 | 93 |
| 2015 | 3 | 85.7 |
| 2015 | 4 | 80.5 |
| 2016 | 1 | 68.4 |
| 2016 | 2 | 69.3 |
| 2016 | 3 | 76.3 |
| 2016 | 4 | 118.1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 153 |
| 2017 | 2 | 145.8 |
| 2017 | 3 | 124.4 |
| 2017 | 4 | 119.4 |
| 2018 | 1 | 144.5 |
| 2018 | 2 | 135.6 |
| 2018 | 3 | 133.8 |
| 2018 | 4 | 142.3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 144.7 |
| 2019 | 2 | 142.8 |
| 2019 | 3 | 130.8 |
| 2019 | 4 | 115.6 |
| 2020 | 1 | 114.2 |
| 2020 | 2 | 108.7 |
| 2020 | 3 | 97.7 |
| 2020 | 4 | 98.8 |
| 2021 | 1 | 113.9 |
| 2021 | 2 | 121.8 |
| 2021 | 3 | 154.3 |
| 2021 | 4 | 238.2 |
| 2022 | 1 | 287.0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 334.1 |
| 2022 | 3 | 259.8 |
| 2022 | 4 | 236.7 |
| 2023 | 1 | 234.9 |
| 2023 | 2 | 211.4 |
| 2023 | 3 | 177.7 |
| 2023 | 4 | 202.5 |
| 2024 | 1 | 206.2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 178.1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 163.7 |
| 2024 | 4 | 145.1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 136.9 |
Table last updated: 5th July 2025. Next update: ~ 5th October 2025.
Notes and definitions
Metallurgical coal is a low-ash, low-sulphur and low-phosphorus coal that is used to produce high grade coke. This coke is an essential fuel and reactant for blast furnace ironmaking, and global consumption of met coal is driven by world steel production volume. In order to produce the blast furnace coke, metallurgical coal is baked in a coke oven which forces out impurities to produce the coke. Chemically, this coke is almost pure carbon.
All coke pricing figures above are average quarterly export prices for metallurgical coal ('coking coal'; 'met coal') shipped from the USA expressed in USD per short ton on an f.a.s. basis [free alongside ship].
Source: all figures above are courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA.