China's coal imports extended the year-on-year growth in November to reach the third-highest level in history, the latest customs data showed.

 

China imported 43.51 million tonnes of coal over November, up 34.64% on the year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs. That expanded by 11.3 percentage points from September's year-on-year growth of 23.34%. 

 

The November import volume increased 20.9% month on month and was only 827,000 tonnes lower than the highest level in August this year.

 

 

Entering November, warmer-than-usual temperatures negatively impacted coal restocking demand from power plants for winter peak season. The weak domestic market in China also made power producers inactive to buy, leading to low prices of imported coal.

 

However, power plants still preferred imported coal based on tenders released, as on-demand purchases remained amid cold air and imported coal was price-competitive despite firm offer prices by overseas miners.

 

In the first eleven months, China imported a total 427.14 million tonnes of coal, surging 62.8% on the year, which was far higher than the total imports of 293.32 million tonnes in 2022.

 

 

The import volume continued to soar this year, primarily ascribed to the government's favorable policies the zero-tariff on coal imports, price advantage of international coal and increasing exports from major sources like Mongolia, Australia and Russia.

 

Although the imported coal demand from power plants has been limited by the weak Chinese market and high stockpiles, it is essential to be prepared for the possibility of extremely cold weather in the future.

 

Looking ahead, domestic downstream users are expected to sustain resilient demand for price-competitive imported coal, particularly high-CV thermal coal and premium coking coal.

 

According to historical data, coal intakes in December are typically higher than that in November, if policy interventions are not considered. This year, with policies supporting imports, the import volume in December is anticipated to remain high, potentially experiencing a slight decrease on the month but still showing a significant year-on-year growth.

 

Coal imports have increased rapidly this year and are predicted to reach 450 million tonnes by the end of the year, said Zhang Hong, an official at the China National Coal Association.

 

If December could maintain the average level seen this year, the annual import volume is highly likely to exceed 460 million tonnes, he added.