MYSTEEL: China thermal coal tightly balanced in H1 and may extend into H2

A supply-led squeeze defined China's thermal coal market in the first half of 2026, pushing price levels higher than the same period a year ago, Mysteel observes in its semi-annual report on the commodity.

The market supply tightness was mainly driven by two major factors, namely Indonesian mining quota constraints and China's domestic mine-safety crackdown which pulled more tonnes off the market than soft demand could offset. Price floors sit above 2025 levels and are likely to hold into the second half, the