Coal news and updates

QHD coal stocks rebound on tepid utility demand

Coal stocks at Qinhuangdao port, the benchmark for China’s domestic market, rebounded in September, mainly due to persisting weak demand from utilities amid cooling weather, the latest data showed.

Coal stocks at the port has been hovered around 6.5 million tonnes since entering September, with the highest at 6.6 million tonnes on September 2, showed data from Qinhuangdao Port Group.

Meanwhile, total coal stocks at the four Bohai Rim ports – Qinhuangdao, SDIC Caofeidian, Jingtang and Tianjin – stood at 15.94 million tonnes on September 6, up 3.24% from 15.44 million tonnes at end-August, data showed.

Daily inbound coal railings to Qinhuangdao port averaged 0.57 million tonnes during the week ended September 8, down 10.29% on week; while outbound shipment was 0.60 million tonnes on average each day over the same period, down 1.42% on week.

Coal demand from utilities remained weak recently, due to relatively high coal stocks and still strong hydropower output.

Daily coal consumption at power plants under the six coastal utilities averaged 0.54 million tonnes on September 7, down 10.5% from a week ago, while their coal stocks combined stood at 13.67 million tonnes, up 9.2% on week, enough to cover 25.5 days, up from 20.9 days a week ago.

source: http://en.sxcoal.com