ABSTRACT
Production and consumption of coal had fallen almost yearly throughout the 1960s. By the turn of the decade, however, there were signs that the position might be changing. For the first time for about fifteen years there was a shortage, not a surplus, of coal in Britain. The position became quite serious in the winters of 1969–70 and 1970–71. Coal stocks fell alarmingly; in March 1969 undistributed coal stocks stood at 25 million tons but by March 1970 they had fallen to just over 14 million tons, and a year later they were at the critical level of just over 6 million tons. Further, there were signs that the cost of coal’s main competitor, oil, was starting to increase. In August 1970 the Trans Arabian Pipeline, which bypassed the blocked Suez Canal, was broken, and the Libyan Government took advantage to the increased demand for Libyan oil 1 to substantially raise its prices. In succeeding months other oil producers followed Libyan the example. By mid-1971 major oil users were paying between £6.60 and £9.30 a ton (coal equivalent) for oil, compared to between £3.30 and £6.00 a ton in June 1970. The rise in oil prices meant that coal was far more competitive. Much industrial coal was being sold at below £5.25 a ton (pithead prices) and Midlands coal averaged around £4.75 a ton in mid-1971.
