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The decline in China's July coal imports was mainly caused by a narrowing gap between import and domestic prices and higher ocean freight rates, an analyst at CITIC Securities told Caijing on Aug. 25.
In July imports fell 13.6 percent month-on-month to 13.89 million tons, according to customs data.
CITIC Securities' coal analyst Wang Ye said prices at Qinhuangdao port, a barometer for domestic prices, stood at about US$83 per ton in July, while prices at Australia's Newcastle port, a major overseas port, stood at US$73 per ton. Caijing reported on Aug. 21 that in June Qinhuangdao prices stood at about US$88 per ton, while Newcastle prices were about US$68 per ton.
China's first-half coal imports, which surged 123.9 percent year-on-year to 48.25 million tons, were a major component behind high overseas prices, Wang said.
In addition to the high foreign prices, ocean freight fees increased to about US$18 per ton in the second quarter from a range of US$8 to US$10 per ton in the first quarter, Wang said.
An analyst at China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd. who asked to remain anonymous told Caijing on Aug. 25 that coal imports are likely to keep shrinking in the coming months, due to weaker downstream demand and increasing domestic stocks.
On Aug. 24, coal stocks at Qinhuangdao port grew by 866,000 tons from the previous week to 5.45 million tons, China Merchants Securities said. |
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