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Jan-Feb coal imports at 60.64 mln T
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China partially eased Australian coal imports ban
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Coal inventory remains high due to slow demand recovery
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SINGAPORE, March 7 (Reuters) - China's coal imports in
the first two months of 2023 surged 71% from a low base a year
earlier as utilities replenished stocks in anticipation of
greater demand after the country abandoned its zero-COVID
policies.
China, the world's largest coal consumer, imported 60.64 million tonnes of coal during January and February, up from 35.39 million tonnes in the same period last year, customs data showed on Tuesday. Data for the two months is combined due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday that began in late January. Utilities stepped up purchases of cheap thermal coal from Indonesia, while arrivals from Mongolia also picked up following the easing of COVID restrictions. Beijing's U-turn on its COVID-19 strategy in late 2022 has stoked hopes for an economic rebound this year that would boost power and coal consumption. Analysts from Wood Mackenzie said in December they expected China's coal demand to increase 2% this year. China in January partially eased an unofficial ban on Australian coal imports amid a rekindling of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
At least eight vessels hauling 700,000 tonnes of Australian
coal have reached Chinese ports since then, shiptracking data
showed, but shipments will take time to be cleared by customs.
Some Chinese utilities and traders have placed orders for
March-loading cargoes.
However high coal inventory levels at Chinese ports and
utilities amid a slower-than-expected recovery in demand from
downstream sectors could limit China's coal imports in the near
term.
Utilisation rates at major coastal power plants fell to
between 50% and 60% in late February from about 70% in January,
as residential heating demand declined amid warmer weather,
traders said.
Coal stocks at key northern Chinese ports fell from a near
three-year-high level hit in mid-February but remain much higher
than during the same period over the past five years, industry
data shows.
(Reporting by Muyu Xu in Singapore and Andrew Hayley in
Beijing; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sonali Paul)
