Why This Coal Miner's Shares Jumped 14% in August

Shares of miner Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE: TECK) rose 14% in August, a huge gain considering that other coal-focused companies such as Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ: ARLP) fell during the month. There were a couple of reasons for this, however, including the type of coal Teck produces, and the fact that it mines for other things, too.

Teck's biggest business is metallurgical coal, which accounted for nearly three-quarters of the miner's gross profit in the second quarter. That's been a volatile commodity of late, with Chinese government policies and extreme weather events causing massive price spikes. However, when Teck reported second-quarter earnings in late July, it noted that it was seeing some stability starting to take hold. More important, that stability left met coal prices above their extreme lows of recent years.

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Source: Fool.com