Australian coal exports via Newcastle port rise 5.5% MoM in April

Coal exports from the Port of Newcastle in Southeast Australia's New South Wales, reached 12.24 million tonnes in April, up 5.5% on month and 7.3% on year, Mysteel Global calculated based on the latest data from the port.

In fact, the April reading marked the highest level for the same month for the past five years, reflecting growing demand for thermal coal as countries endeavour to stabilise power generation amid the ongoing Middle East conflict and the consequent oil and gas supply disruptions.

Newcastle port is an important conduit for Australian coal to export markets, with most being thermal coal, Mysteel Global notes.

Following the drastic reduction in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint handling almost one fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply per year, some countries that had been diversifying their energy sources have been forced back to coal in recent months.

According to Mysteel's maritime data, in April coal shipments from Newcastle port to several ASEAN countries all registered large on-month and on-year rises. For example, exports to Malaysia reached 615,628 tonnes, surging 66% on month and 58% on year.

For years, ASEAN has been charting a transition roadmap to cleaner energy sources for the region. However, this process has been disrupted as countries such as Thailand and Vietnam reactivate or maximise their coal-fired generation to compensate for gas and oil shortages, Mysteel Global learnt.

Meanwhile, surging steam coal shipments to India also contributed to the overall rise in the port's throughput last month, with the volume more than doubling on month to 313,274 tonnes, Mysteel's maritime data showed.

Local Indian media noted that intense heat had driven up the country's power consumption in April, also boosting its demand for coal, the dominant energy source accounting for around 70% of India's power supply.

According to the India Meteorological Department, large parts of India experienced maximum temperatures of 40-45°C last month.

As such, India's power generation hit a two-year high at 167.61 billion kilowatt-hours in April, with its coal-fired generation also up 2.6% on year to 121.34 billion kWh, according to data from the federal grid regulator Grid-India.

Over January-April, cumulative coal throughput via Newcastle port totaled 46.35 million tonnes, up 3% from the same period of last year, according to data from the port authority.

Written by Adrian Zhou, zhouwenhaoa@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com