The VanEck Vectors Coal ETF (NYSEArca: KOL), which tracks the coal industry, was once left for dead, but this year KOL has nearly doubled and is one of 2016’s best-performing non-leveraged exchange traded funds.
Earlier this y ear, China’s State Administration of Work Safety said working days for coal miners will be cut to 276 per year from 330 as China cut 500 million tons of coal production capacity over the next three to five years, according to Reuters. Mines typically operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Related: China’s History Making Layoffs May Strengthen Steel Sector ETFs
Contributing to the surge in coal prices this year, China has drastically curbed its domestic coal production since April. Beijing is limiting the number of days miners can work in an attempt to control a bloated sector. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall across China’s northern coalfields have disrupted local mines and railways.