- Aug imports remain second highest on record, up 29% y-o-y
- Weak steel margins, high port stocks drag down volumes
China’s coking coal imports in August slipped by a moderate 4% from July’s peak to 13.07 million tonnes yet remained the second highest on record and up 28.7% on year, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs (GACC).
The import value retreated 5.9% on month to $1.73 billion last month, reflecting lower import volumes and softer seaborne prices, though the amount remained 94% higher on year. That equates to an average import price of $132.1/tonne, down $2.7/t from July — the first decline after three consecutive months of robust gains.
August imports pulled back slightly from their previous highs, largely because of growing market uncertainty, which widened the bid-offer spread and stalled trading. The volumes largely reflected buying interest from July to early August, considering shipping and clearance times.
Chinese importers’ appetite for this steelmaking feed coal has faltered since the second half of July, in tandem with weaker affordability among downstream mills and coke producers as well as mounting uncertainty over the near-term market outlook.
Mysteel’s survey showed that the profitability ratio among the 247 blast-furnace steel mills it tracks continued to decline last month and hit a low of 32.5% by 27 August. Sources said that downstream buyers’ firmer resistance to high feed coal prices signalled growing correction pressure, prompting traders to move to the sidelines.
Meanwhile, higher coking coal stockpiles at Chinese ports after July’s record imports have also reduced the urgency of new forward coal bookings. At the end of July, imported coking coal inventories at China’s major ports reached a 17-month high of 3.8 million tonnes before easing to 3.34 million tonnes by end-August, though this level remained seasonally high.
China’s domestic coking coal market lost momentum before rebounding firmly again in mid-August, as demand concerns outweighed supply cuts already priced in. The shift added further gloom to the seaborne market.
While shipments from all major suppliers saw strong on-year gains in August, their trends diverged on a monthly basis. Mongolia, the top supplier, delivered 6.41 million tonnes of coking coal to China last month, posted a mild on-month recovery of 3.2%, according to GACC data. This reversed July’s downtrend and lifted its share marginally to 49.1% of China’s total coking coal imports from 45.6% in July.
Although Mongolian coal shipments to North China’s Ganqimaodu border crossing — the largest conduit for Mongolian coal exports to China — slumped from mid-August, high coal intakes in the first half of the month compensated for the loss, temporarily limiting the impact.
Sources expect cuts to Mongolian supply to become more evident in September-October, citing persistently low truck traffic, depleted stockpiles at China’s major border ports, and upcoming customs closures on 25 September and during 1-7 October for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, respectively.
Shipments of Russian-origin coal edged lower from July’s level, down 13.1% to 3.66 million tonnes in August, though still 42.7% higher on year, according to GACC data.
Shipments from Australia fell 27.6% from July’s peak to 1.64 million tonnes in August, while maintaining a 347% on-year surge. Sources noted that worsening profitability made Chinese steelmakers more cautious in buying raw materials. Australia’s share of China’s coking coal imports stood at 12.5% last month, well above the 7.2% average for 2025, but below July’s 16.6%.
By contrast, China’s coking coal imports from Canada rebounded 28.8% on month to 698,000 tonnes in August. Indonesia — an emerging coking coal supplier despite its long-standing role as a thermal coal exporter — shipped 454,000 tonnes of coking coal to China in August, up 27.2% on month and 194% on year.
In the first eight months this year, China imported a cumulative 93.57 million tonnes of coking coal from all sources, marking a 28.8% increase on year. The import value also swelled by 43.9% on year to $10.6 billion.
Note: The article is published as part of a content sharing agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
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