Coal-mining companies shut out of the capital markets last year may soon see a reversal of fortunes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Peabody Energy Corp., which is making its way through chapter 11, and Blackhawk Mining LLC, a smaller, privately held coal miner, tapped the high-yield loan and bond markets this week aiming to raise more than $2 billion in total debt. Two other mining companies that have recently gone through restructurings are looking to seize the opportunity to refinance. Encouraging the companies’ hopes of fresh financing is improved pricing for coal after several years of falling demand, as well as President Donald Trump’s campaign pledges to stand behind coal miners and roll back environmental regulations. The U.S.-based coal companies’ ability to tap the debt markets is a major turnaround from last year, when investors shunned coal issuers. The dramatic rally in coal prices, particularly metallurgical coal used for steel making, has fueled demand for coal companies’ debt. Prices for export-oriented coal used in smelting tripled in the second half of 2016 to $300 a metric ton. Although prices have since fallen to $200 a ton, they remain double what they were a year ago.
