Thermal Coal Imports
The latest data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in November 2023, China imported 31.911 million tons of thermal coal (including lignite, other bituminous coal and other coal, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 23.59% and a month-on-month increase of 20.47%, which is still a new high for the same period in history.
Thermal coal imports in November were US$2.722 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 9.39% and a month-on-month increase of 34.5%. Based on this, the average thermal coal import price in November was US$85.29/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 26.68% and a month-on-month increase of 11.65%.
From January to November 2023, a total of 319 million tons of thermal coal were imported, an increase of 124 million tons or 63.78% year-on-year; the cumulative amount was US$29.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31.81%.
In November, China imported 14.137 million tons of lignite, a year-on-year decrease of 1.09% and a month-on-month increase of 13.14%.
In November, the import value of lignite was US$910 million, a year-on-year decrease of 31% and a month-on-month increase of 27.28%. From this, it is estimated that the average lignite import price for that month was US$64.3/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 30.24% and a month-on-month increase of 12.5%.
From January to November 2023, a total of 148 million tons of lignite was imported, a year-on-year increase of 30.2848 million tons, an increase of 25.84%; the import value was US$10.542 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.96%.
Coking Coal Imports
The latest data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that in November 2023, China imported 9.923 million tons of coking coal , a year-on-year increase of 73.1% and a month-on-month increase of 24.4%.
China’s coking coal imports in November were US$1.58 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35.0% and a month-on-month increase of 21.7%. Based on this, the average import price was estimated to be US$159.3/ton, a year-on-year decrease of US$45.0/ton and a month-on-month decrease of US$3.4/ton.
From January to November 2023, a total of 91.048 million tons of coking coal were imported, a year-on-year increase of 58.7%; the cumulative import value was US$15.27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%.
In terms of anthracite coal , China imported 1.671 million tons of anthracite coal in November, a year-on-year increase of 119.6% and a month-on-month increase of 9.7%, marking the second consecutive month of month-on-month growth.
The import volume was US$240 million, a year-on-year increase of 46.2% and a month-on-month increase of 4.7%. Based on this, the import unit price is estimated to be US$145.2/ton, a year-on-year decrease of US$72.9/ton and a month-on-month decrease of US$6.9/ton.
From January to November 2023, a total of 16.725 million tons of anthracite coal was imported, a year-on-year increase of 66.9%; the cumulative import volume was US$2.91 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37.8%.
