Indonesian government's benchmark thermal coal price HBA for August 2023 dropped US$11.7 MoM to US$179.9/tonne.
In H1 2023, China's total coal imports increased by 93% YoY to 221.9 million tonnes, which is partly due to the low base in the Q2 2022.
The increase in China's coal imports was mainly caused by sagging demand in North Asia and other major importers in Europe, higher production in Indonesia, Russian coal sources flowing to Asia, and lower prices. Most of the extra imports went to the upstream players' warehouses.
India has emerged as another major coal importer, with imports rising 14% YoY in the H1 2023 (following a 58% rise in 2022), underpinned by improving coal consumption and electricity demand. India's electricity demand and coal consumption are expected to increase continuously, given the 6.3% increase of India's GDP growth at the end of March 2024.
Written by Alex Xie, xiehan@mysteel.com
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com