South Korea: Coal imports from Russia rise in July despite proposed ban

South Korea’s thermal coal imports from Russia continue to remain higher despite the ban it has imposed on the latter following the Ukraine invasion. Imports from Russia in July were higher at 2 mnt, up by 41% m-o-m. Amid rising power demand and elevated LNG prices, market participants expect South Korea to continue procuring Russian coal to gain competitive advantage over Japan which has reduced Russian coal imports.