[diffraction]

There's no futures symbol because coal is inherently worth different values based on location. It's a solid, it doesn't spoil (sometimes it spontaneously combusts), you need a whole lot of it to do anything useful. These difficulties fragment the market. For example there are futures for: Australia coal, South Africa coal, Wyoming powder basin coal, Illinois basin coal, etc. It is transported by train or on a dry bulk ship.

[pjc50]

Well, the same is roughly true of oil although it's a little harder to store and ship. There's at least two futures markets (Brent and WTI), various oil grades etc. People seem happier assigning a single "oil price" despite local variation.