Reuters quoted Genscape said US coal consumption during the past week fell 2% from the previous week due to weak demand in the East and was 9% below the same week last year.

The power data provider said consumption in the populous East for the week ended Thursday fell 2% from the previous week and was 10% less than the same week in 2008

Genscape said "The decline in demand in the South Atlantic region was particularly noteworthy, with the rate of decrease this week approaching double digits. It said fuel switching from coal to inexpensive natural gas is increasing, and some large coal plants were offline during the week.

Genscape has said the regional indexes are calculated separately from the national index. They do not always add up to a number equaling the separately calculated US total.

(Sourced from Reuters)