South African coal exports have witnessed sizeable growth during Mar’18, after registering decline for the past two months.
According to the data provided by South African customs, coal export from the country has increased 19% M-o-M to 7.53 MnT in Mar’18, which was also 13% higher on the year compared with 6.64 MnT in Mar’17.
Total coal exports in the first quarter of CY18 (Jan’18-Mar’18) has reached 20.45 MnT, up 5% Y-o-Y compared with 19.52 MnT recorded during the corresponding period of CY17.
Grade-wise Coal Exports:
Bituminous coal exports rose 15% on the month to 7.17 MnT in Mar’18 compared with 6.22 MnT in Feb’18.
Anthracite coal exports had increased abruptly to 195,463 MT in Apr’18, in contrast with a mere 149 MT in the previous month. Met Coke and Pet Coke exports were marked at 4,899 MT and 4,811 MT respectively, in Mar’18.
Major Coal Importers:
India remained the largest coal importer of South African coal in Mar’18, followed by South Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mozambique and Taiwan. Among these top 6 coal importing nations, only Taiwan had seen a drop in coal imports on the monthly basis.
Indian coal import had increased 14% M-o-M to 2.94 MnT in Mar’18, but was 8% lower on the year compared with 3.21 MnT in Mar’17.
South Korea overtook Pakistan to become the second-largest coal importer during the month. South Korean imports jumped 66% M-o-M 1.21 MnT in Mar’18, against 0.73 MnT in Feb’18. On the other hand, Pakistan’s coal import was marked at 1.08 MnT during the month.
Source: South African Customs | Quantity in MnT
South African Coal Offers:
Apparently, the drop in South African coal prices from Jan’18, had incite more coal buying amongst the customers. However, the continual supply tightness and strong trading in paper market has again pushed up the offers for South African coal.
South African coal index API-4 was assessed at USD 98.55 for May loading, which had remained almost stable at USD 94 during Apr’18.
South African 5500 NAR coal was offered at USD 84-85/MT, FoB Richards Bay. 4800 NAR coal was offered at USD 68-69/MT, FoB Richards Bay.
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