Exports may be silver lining for coal as production falls, feds say

Coal and natural gas exports are up for the first half of the year, even as both coal production and consumption have fallen, the Energy Department said Monday.

Both coal and natural gas exports are key to President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda. For coal, exports are crucial, since shipments to other countries appear to be the only silver lining as production and consumption of coal continued to fall in the second quarter of 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest quarterly reporting.