China's coking coal imports reached a record high in November, ending a three-month decline, showed the latest data from the General Administration of Customs. 

The country's coking coal imports soared 23.9% year on year and 23.5% month on month to 12.3 million tonnes.

The value of coking coal imports amounted to $1.69 billion during the month, up 7.1% on the year and 23.1% on the month. The average import price was $137.7/t, down $21.6/t year on year and $0.4/t month on month.

The top five coking coal suppliers in November were Mongolia (42%), Russia (21%), Australia (15%), the U.S. (10%) and Canada (7%). They contributed 11.62 million tonnes or 95% of China's total coking coal imports in the month.

Specifically, China imported 5.22 million tonnes of coking coal from Mongolia in November, falling 13.3% year on year but rising 32.7% on the month. The imports were worth $570 million, with the average import price at $109.8/t, down $27/t from a year earlier and $27/t from the month before. In October, customs clearance remained low due to National Day holiday, and rebounded in November.

China took 2.56 million tonnes of coking coal from Russia, up 32.9% year on year but dipping 0.2% month on month, which was worth $340 million. This put the average import price at $131.3/t, down $30.8/t on the year but up $0.7/t on the month. The growth of China's coking coal offtakes from Russia were restrained by U.S.'s escalated sanctions against Russia, impacted shipping capacity and increased costs and tariff.

In addition, the Russian government has decided to cancel the export tariffs on coking coal pegged to exchange rates from December 1, 2024. However, a 13.8% increase in Russian railway freight rates from December 1 and an increase in mineral extraction taxes from January 1, 2025 may push up costs.

China imported 1.8 million tonnes of coking coal from Australia in November, soaring 840.3% on the year and 35.1% from a month earlier. The total amounts were $330 million, translating to an average import price of $184.2/t, down $93.6/t from a year ago and $3.2/t on the month.

Imports of U.S. coking coal were 1.2 million tonnes, rising 59.8% from a year ago yet dropping 10.6% month on month. The imported cargoes were worth $190 million, with the average import price at $155.6/t, down $64.9/t from the preceding year and $1.9/t from a month ago.

Imports from Canada were 0.85 million tonnes, hiking 109.8% from the previous year and 105.6% from the month prior. Import amounts were $160 million, with the average import price at $192.3/t, down $78.1/t year on year and $13.2/t month on month.

Aggregate coking coal imports increased 22.5% from the previous year to 110 million tonnes in the first eleven months, with the import value up 11.7% year on year to $17.06 billion, data showed.

Mongolian coking coal imports took up 47% of the total at 52.57 million tonnes, 10.9% higher than the year-ago level. Russian coal imports accounted for 25% of the total with 28.19 million tonnes, up 16.4% on the year.

In the first eleven months, China's imports of Australian coking coal increased by 283.3% year on year. Last year, China lifted the ban over imports of Australian coal, but total imports were only 2.8 million tonnes due to higher prices than domestic cargoes. Imports rose this year mainly due to the competitive pricing of Australian shipments.

Considering ongoing off-season of steel consumption in China and the impact of environmental factors on coke and steel enterprises' production, coking coal demand is restricted.

In addition, the high inventory of Mongolian coal at ports and supervision areas has restricted the clearance. This, coupled with possibly reduced imports of Russian coal due to cold weather, may lead to a decline in China's coking coal imports in December.

Given that imports in the first eleven months have already exceeded last year's total, there is no doubt that the annual imports of coking coal in 2024 will once again break records. 

In 2023, China's cumulative import of coking coal reached 100 million tonnes, a year-on-year jump of 60.6%.