Coal news and updates

Japan, China and South Korea topped the list in coal imports from Newcastle, Australia for January 2015.

 

According to Australia's Port Waratah Coal Services terminals (PWCS) report, Newcastle port dispatched around 9.92 million metric tonnes of coal exports in January 2015.

 

Only 10% of the exports, or 922,000 metric tonnes, was metallurgical coal, while the remaining 90% of exports, or 8.93 million metric tonnes, was thermal coal. Japan was the largest customer of the coal exports, with 4.2 million metric tonnes in January 2015, down 19.5% from its exports of 5.22 million metric tonnes in December 2014.

 

China alone took about 2.165 million metric tonnes of coal exports in January, up 30% from its offtake total of 1.66 million metric tonnes in December 2014. Similarly, South Korea saw an increase of 15% month-on-month in its offtake of coal exports to 1.86 million metric tonnes in January 2015.

 

This was the third consecutive month that China increased its coal offtake from Newcastle despite the Chinese government imposing a 6% import tax on Australian thermal coal. The gradual recovery of coal intake by China has prompted a hike in coal price to $54 per metric tonne on a free on board (FOB) basis, up slightly from December's average price of $53.17 per metric tonne.

 

However, the price recovery may be short-lived as China is experiencing falling demand in coal domestically, which has resulted coal mines being shut down across the country.

 

 

 

Source: http://www.ihsmaritime360.com/