Feb 17 (Reuters) - Whitehaven Coal on Wednesday reported it had swung to a half-yearly loss as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in coal prices over the period.

Australia 's biggest independent coal miner posted a net loss after tax of A$94.5 million ($73.29 million) for six months, compared to a profit of A$27.4 million a year ago.

The loss was steeper than a UBS estimate of an interim loss of A$53 million. ($1 = 1.2893 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese)