Genscape said that US coal consumption was off 3% in the past week, Friday, as summer eased its grip across the North and East and power providers used more gas to meet electricity demand.

The power industry data monitor said that use of coal for the week ended Thursday fell 2% from the same week in 2010.

WSI Corp weather service said that "A series of cold fronts swept across the northern and eastern US, bringing relief from the heat to major cities of the Midwest, Northeast and even the deep Southeast, as a cold front made it all the way down to the Gulf Coast early in the week.”

(Sourced from Reuters)