Coal news and updates

UK July thermal coal imports fall 71% on year to 821,375 mt

UK imports of thermal coal in July fell 71% on the year to 821,375 mt, as the higher Carbon Price Support mechanism introduced in April continued to impact demand, according to customs data Thursday.

However, the volume recovered 34% month on month to the highest level since imports first fell below the 1 million mt level in May, the data showed.

The total comprised 535,888 mt of bituminous coal and 285,487 mt of sub-bituminous material.

Total UK thermal coal imports for the January-July period were at 11.6 million mt, slipping 45% compared with the first seven months of 2014.

The UK's Carbon Price Support mechanism was increased on April 1 to GBP18.08/mt ($27.83/mt at current exchange rates) in 2015-16 from GBP9.55/mt of carbon in 2014-15, reducing coal's competitiveness.

Imports from Russia in July plunged 85% on the year to 200,488 mt and were also down 15% from June to the lowest monthly volume since Platts started collating import data in January 2012.

Colombia shipped 325,351 mt of thermal coal to the UK during the month, slipping 64% year on year, but up 23% from the previous month to a three-month high.

The UK imported 174,479 mt of US thermal coal in July, falling 71% from the dame month in 2014, but up from nothing in June.

No South African coal was imported for the fifth consecutive month.

source: http://www.platts.com