Coal news and updates

US thermal coal exports hit one-year high in March: Census

Thermal coal exports rose to a one-year high of 3.4 million mt in March amid disrupted global trade flows after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US Census Bureau data showed May 5.

The volume was 19.4% higher than the previous month but 9.8% lower than the year-ago month.

On a year-to-date basis, thermal exports were 32.9% higher in the latest month. Of the thermal exports in March, 3 million mt were bituminous, up 25.1% on the month but 12% lower on the year. Subbituminous shipments accounted for 420,795 mt of that volume, down 10.5% on the month but 13.3% higher on the year.

The CIF Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp monthly average coal price was $320.27/mt in March, up 61.8% on the month and 363% on the year.

Metallurgical coal shipments dropped 11.6% on the month to 3.2 million mt in March, up 4.2% on the year. Year-to-date met coal exports were 6.4% higher than the year-ago period. The US low-volatile met coal price averaged $508.91/mt in March, up 40% on the month and 246.5% on the year.