China's coal imports reached a new high in November, surpassing 50 million tonnes for the first time, following the previous record set in September of the same year.

The country's coal imports were registered at 54.98 million tonnes in November, up 18.9% or 8.73 million tonnes on the month and 26.4% or 11.48 million tonnes from the previous year, the latest customs data showed.

The coal imports were worth $4.96 billion in November, which put the average import price at $90.1/t, down $14.3/t year on year but up $1.3/t from the month-ago level, according to the General Administration of Customs.

By coal type, China imported 42.69 million tonnes of thermal coal (non-coking coal), growing 27.1% from last year and 17.6% month on month, exceeding 40 million tonnes for the first time. Of that, 59% was from Indonesia, followed by Australia at 18%.

Coking coal imports reached 12.3 million tonnes, up 23.9% on the year and 23.5% on the month, also setting a new record. Of that, coking coal imports from Mongolia were still the most, accounting for 42%, and imports from Russia took up 21% of total coking coal imports.

The top five sources of China's coal imports in November were Indonesia, Australia, Russia, Mongolia and the U.S., with the combined volume reaching 52.81 million tonnes, or 96% of total imports.

In November, China still imported the most coal from Indonesia, totaling 25.6 million tonnes, up 39.7% year on year and 19.8% month on month, accounting for 47% of China's total coal imports.

China received 9.3 million tonnes of coal from Australia, 47.5% higher year on year and 32.2% month on month, accounting for 17% of China's total.

Coal imports from Russia grew 13.7% from the previous year and 1.1% on the month to 8.33 million tonnes, accounting for 15% of the total, while imports from Mongolia stood at 8.23 million tonnes, rising 4.3% year on year and 27.7% month on month, constituting 15%.

Intakes from the U.S. stood at 1.35 million tonnes, increasing 35.7% on the year but down 18.28% month on month, representing 3% of the total.

China's accumulative coal imports came in at 490 million tonnes over January-November this year, ascending 14.8% from the preceding year, which exceeded the total coal imports of 470 million tonnes for all of 2023.

Australian and Indonesian coal made great contributions to the increase of 28.4 million and 16.36 million tonnes, while Russian coal receipts decreased 6.52 million tonnes affected by limitations in railway transportation, sanctions, and tariffs.