China’s coal imports fell 33.8% year on year (y/y) to 121.1 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2015, with its import value down 47% y/y to USD7.7 billion.
Coal imports dropped 8.8% y/y in July to 21.3 million tonnes, but jumped 28.1% y/y compared with June, according to Chinese Customs’ statistics.
The value of imported coal also dropped 24.6% y/y in July to USD1.3 billion, but the number rose 24.7% y/y compared with June, with the average coal price down USD1.6 per tonne in July to USD61.2 per tonne.
More than 90% of China’s coal imports are seaborne, according to the China National Coal Association. The association estimated that China’s overall coal imports for 2015 would amount to around 200 million tonnes, as the y/y decline in coal imports would shrink in the upcoming months of 2015.
In 2014, Chinese coal imports dropped 10.9% y/y to about 290 million tonnes due to competition from cheaper domestic coal and government restrictions on coal imports.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.