Energy handler XCoal has signed a 700,000 ton thermal coal contract to supply Ukraine this fall. U.S. Energy Secretary Perry referred to the deal’s potential to diversify Ukraine’s energy supplies. In that regard the deal is supportive rather than transformative – it’s equivalent to 4% of annual coal consumption in Ukraine. Politically it is important as most of Ukraine’s coal is mined in the strife-torn Donetsk region, and it plays into the U.S. government’s more hawkish stance towards Russia. Ukraine so far has been a small coal customer for the U.S., accounting for 3% of coal exports....