Metallurgical coking coal prices have improved by nearly 22 percent since January and are expected to push higher next year, according to panelists at AMM's Scrap and Raw Materials Conference in Charlotte.

"The coking coal industry in the U.S. is alive and it is doing well. There has been continued improvement and we are still seeing it today," said Jack Porco, president and chief commercial officer of XCoal Energy & Resources, Latrobe, Pa., forecasting an increase in met coal prices partially because suppliers are facing higher costs.

Coking coal prices averaged $115 a ton f.o.b. on the East Coast during the first six months of...