Coal news and updates

India, China coal offtake from Australian Gladstone port rises in June

Queensland coal shipments from Gladstone port to China in June doubled from May to a one-year high of 1.48 million mt, and India's offtake from the Australian port rose to a two-year high of 1.67 million mt, Gladstone Ports Corp. said Wednesday.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, China took delivery of 12.93 million mt of coal exports from Gladstone port, which is a shipping point for companies including Cockatoo Coal, Glencore, Jellinbah, Rio Tinto, Yancoal and Wesfarmers.

The shipments were down 31.4% year on year from 18.86 million mt of coal sent to China in fiscal 2013-14.

China-bound ships loaded 750,000 mt of coal exports at Gladstone port in May and 1 million mt in April. In June 2014, the Queensland coal port shipped 1.61 million mt of coal to China, a record that still stands.

Gladstone port ships both thermal and metallurgical coal from around 20 coal mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin coal field delivered on two rail networks, Blackwater and the smaller Moura system. INDIA, JAPAN

India was the destination for 13.49 million mt of Gladstone's coal exports in the June-ended fiscal year, up 9.4% from 12.33 million mt in the preceding fiscal year.

Last month's coal shipments to India were the highest recorded since Platts started tracking Gladstone coal exports data in July 2013, and the previous monthly record was 1.44 million mt in May 2014.

Indian buyers, particularly cement companies have been buying thermal coal cargoes at Gladstone port, attracted by market prices lower than comparable calorific value South African coal, sources said.

Japan maintained its offtake of coal exports from Gladstone port at 22.58 million mt in the fiscal year ended June, compared with 22.25 million mt in fiscal 2013-14.

June's Gladstone coal shipments to Japan were 2.01 million mt, down from 2.42 million mt in May.

South Korea received 10.35 million mt of coal exports from Gladstone coal shippers in the June-ended fiscal year, up 10.8% year on year from 9.34 million mt.

Taiwan is another significant customer for Gladstone coal exports, taking delivery of 2.99 million mt in fiscal 2014-15, down 2% from 3.06 million mt a year earlier.

Gladstone port's two coal terminals of Barney Point and RG Tanna shipped 69.38 million mt of coal in the year period ended June, down 0.3% from 69.62 million mt in fiscal 2013-14, the data showed.

source: http://www.platts.com