Australia, one of the largest coking coal exporters across the globe witnessed a growth in its monthly coal exports during Sep’16 and stood at 34 MnT.
Australian coal exports — both metallurgical and thermal stood at 34 MnT in Sep’16 with a rise of 7% compared to Aug’16. While, coal exports also recorded a growth of 7% in Sep’16 from 31.9 MnT in Sep’15 Y-o-Y, as per the latest updates by Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Out of the total exports, the country shipped more than 50% Steam coal to different destinations and rest quantity comprises Hard coking, Semi Soft coking, other metallurgical and Anthracite coal.
| Grades | Sep-16 | Aug-16 | % Change |
| Steam Coal | 18.4 | 15.7 | 17% |
| Hard Coking Coal | 10.3 | 10.3 | 1% |
| Semi Soft Coking | 5.3 | 5.5 | -4% |
| Other Metallurgical | – | 0.3 | -100% |
| Anthracite | 0.1 | – | – |
| Total | 34.1 | 31.8 | 7% |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Quantity in MnT
For the first nine months of the year (Jan’16-Sep’16), the country has shipped total quantity of around 286.8 MnT coal worldwide, down by 1% from 288.7 MnT at the same period last year.
Presently, Australian coking coal prices are hitting up in the global market as driven by sudden rise in Chinese coal demand and production cut. Current offers for premium coking coal is assessed at USD 308/MT, FoB for Dec’16 shipments.
Major Coal Export Destinations in Sep’16
The country has been exporting more than 80% of coal to its top 5 export destinations every month such as Japan (34%), China (16%), Korea (12%), India (12%) and Taipei (11%).
Japan is one of the largest buyers of Australian coal as the country’s whole steel industry is largely dependent on Australian imported grades. Out of the total export in the year, the country shipped about 30% of coal to Japan.
Japan took about 11.5 MnT coal in Sep’16; Up by 19% compared to last month. While, yearly import rose by 13%, which was 10.2 MnT in Sep’15.
China, the second-largest coal importer during the month, imported about 5.4 MnT coal in Sep’16, with a rise of 3% compared to 5.2 MnT in Aug’16. While, the nation’s yearly import from Australia also recorded a growth of 13%, which was 4.8 MnT in Sep’15.
India, the third-largest coal importer from Australia in Sep’16, imported about 4.2 MnT coal during the month, recorded a growth of 15% which was 3.7 MnT in Aug’16. While, import moved down by 12% Y-o-Y.
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