Coal remains a significant player in international commodities markets despite price drops and calls for coal exit, with production reaching new highs in many regions, excluding the US and Europe.

China's robust demand for thermal coal has been driving up the global market and the country saw coal stockpiled in 2023 due to increased supply from Indonesia and Australia, as well as a global uptick in coal mining, Wall Street Journal reported.

In December 2023, China's coal imports hit an all-time high of 47.29 million tonnes, up 53.03% year on year and 8.71% month on month, showed the latest data from the General Administration of Customs.

However, prices of Newcastle thermal coal, the primary Asian benchmark, have experienced a decline of around 13% in December, according to Refinitiv.

Over the past year, Newcastle coal prices plummeted by 66%, which could be attributed partly to the fact that global coal output reached a record 8.7 billion tonnes in 2023, marking a 1.8% increase from the previous year, as reported by the International Energy Agency.

(Writing by Riley Liang  Editing by Emma Yang)
For any questions, please contact us by inquiry@fwenergy.com or +86-351-7219322.

Share this article

Connect with us