The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is sliding today along with the broader market.
At market open, the coal producer's shares changed hands at $8.67 but then began to whittle away.
Currently, Whitehaven shares are trading at $8.31, down 9.67%.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is sinking by 1.84% to 6,453.6 points.
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What's weighing down Whitehaven shares?
The Whitehaven share price is hitting the brakes despite no announcements from the company today.
After touching a record high of $9.33 on 23 September, Whitehaven shares are now down 6% over the past week.
This comes as the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is the worst performer across the ASX Indices.
The energy sector is down a massive 6.36% at the time of writing.
Other commodity indexes are also feeling the pain such as the ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) and All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX XGD), down 4.89% and 5.48% respectively.
Coal prices have edged lower in recent weeks to US$435 per tonne, down from the record high of US$460.
The US agreed to a labour deal with the unions to avoid a railway strike that would halt the supply of coal to major power plants.
As a result, coal prices eased on the news that the crisis will be averted.
However, seaborne coal is becoming hot in demand as countries halt coal and other energy imports from Russia.
Nonetheless, there are investor fears of an impending recession within the next 12 months which is causing ASX miners to tank.
About the Whitehaven share price
Whitehaven shares moved in circles in the early part of 2022 before shooting higher from June onwards.
For the 9 months that have passed, the Whitehaven share price is up 220%.
The company presides a market capitalisation of roughly $8.80 billion.
