China's coal imports rebounded month on month in November, driven by notable cost effectiveness against domestic goods. Shipments from all top three sources posed sequential increases, with Indonesian and Mongolian coal each growing over 1.5 million tonnes.

The country imported 44.05 million tonnes in the month, marking the second intra-year high, showed data from the General Administration of Customs. The volume grew 5.5% month on month (MoM), but dived 19.9% year on year (YoY) due to a high base last year.

The November coal imports were worth $3.21 billion, which put the average import price at $72.8/t, jumping $1.4/t MoM but descending $17.3/t YoY.

By coal type, China imported 33.32 million tonnes of thermal coal (non-coking coal), gaining 7% MoM yet declining 21.9% YoY. This accounted for 76% of the total coal imports during the month.

Coking coal imports stood at 10.73 million tonnes, up 1.3% MoM but down 12.7% YoY, taking up 24% of China's total coal intakes.

Indonesia, remaining China's largest coal supplier, contributed 46% of total imports in November. Shipments from the country amounted to 20.39 million tonnes, diving 20.4% YoY yet climbing 9.0% MoM. The import value of Indonesian coal came in at $1.19 billion, with the average import price down $9.9/t YoY yet up $0.3/t MoM to $58.3/t.

Mongolia was the second-biggest supplier in the month. China received 9.32 million tonnes of coal from the country, up 20.1% MoM and 13.2% YoY. The import was valued at $580 million, translating to an average import price of $62.1/t, down $24.2/t YoY but up $4.5/t MoM.

In the month, China also imported 7.28 million tonnes of coal from Russia, the third-highest level in the year. The volume was up 7.2% MoM but down 12.6% YoY. Coal intakes from Australia and Canada stood at 6.21 million (-12.4% MoM, -33.3% YoY) and 0.61 million tonnes (-37.6% MoM, -27.9% YoY), respectively.

China's coal imports totaled 430 million tonnes over January-November, falling 11.9% YoY. The value dropped 33.4% YoY to $31.62 billion. Cumulative imports of Indonesian, Russian, and Australian coal dropped 15.4%, 8.6%, and 7.7% YoY, respectively, while Mongolian and Canadian coal imports climbed 4.9% and 19.9%.