China, the world’s largest coal importer especially of thermal coal, has recorded a surge of 14.7% m-o-m in its coal imports at 25.3 mn t against 22.06 mn t in May’20, with majority imports coming from Indonesia, according to customs data.
- This increase can be attributed to an increment in China’s overall power consumption in June. NEA (National Energy Administration) data shows that country’s power consumption in Jun’20 rose by 6.6% m-o-m at 635 billion kWh against 592.6 billion kWh in May’20.
- Most parts of China saw a higher temperature in June, that contributed to the increase in power consumption during the month. The country’s residential power consumption increased by 4.4% m-o-m at 82.5 billion kWh, NEA data revealed.
- Apart from this, the country’s industrial activities also picked up during the month. The power used by primary and secondary industries rose by 10% and 6% respectively on a m-o-m basis whereas tertiary industries’ power usage moved up by 8% in June.
- The daily coal burn at the country’s six major coastal power plants averaged at 635,000 t/d in June against 628,000 t/d in May.
First six months scenario
- In H1 (Jan-Jun’20) China imported about 174 mn t of coal, up by 12.7% against the corresponding period of previous year.
- The country’s power consumption during Jan-Jun’20 fell by 1.3% y-o-y to 3354.7 billion kWh. The highest fall was recorded during Feb and Mar’20 when industrial activities were significantly reduced amid lockdown measures adopted to control the spread of COVID-19.
Outlook
China’s coal imports are anticipated to fall in H2 2020 (Jul-Aug) as the country is adopting stringent import restrictions at ports dampening buying interest of traders and power plants. Apart from this, heavy rainfall in the country is likely to boost hydropower generation in the country.
Leave a Reply