AKIPRESS.COM - Coal prices tumbled 11% in the third quarter, skidding to an eight-year low on Wednesday and worsening the pain for beleaguered miners, including Glencore PLC.

A global benchmark for coal used in power plants fell 1.9% on Wednesday to $52.95 a metric ton, according to Platts, a pricing service of McGraw Hill Financial Inc, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Driving the selloff is China’s push for cleaner-burning fuels as well as its actions to protect its own miners, which have forced global coal producers to scramble to find other buyers. Like other commodities, the coal market is mired in a glut. In recent months, the oversupply in coal has been exacerbated by rising output from troubled mining companies, which have been able to slash costs.

That has dashed hopes for a recovery in prices either this year or next, traders and analysts say, and has put pressure on miners that took on debt to snap up assets when prices were higher.

Glencore’s share price plummeted to an all-time low on Monday—before rebounding on Tuesday and Wednesday—amid worries that persistently low commodity prices threaten its credit rating. Shares bounced back after Glencore reiterated that it was on track to cut its debt and faced no threat of insolvency.