Coal Imports in January 2012 decreased by 1.1% year-on-year

China Customs data show that: In January 2012, China imported 16.3663 million tons of hard coal, which was a year-on-year decrease of 1.1% and a decrease of 23.4% from the previous month.

In January 2012, 5.858 million tons of coal was imported from Indonesia, which was a slight decrease of 1.16% year-on-year and a 31.82% decrease from the previous month. The unit price was 102.26 USD/ton, a slight decrease of 0.88 USD/ton compared with December 2011. In January, Mongolia’s coal imports amounted to 1,152,900 tons, a significant drop of 54.79% from the previous month, and the unit price was US$86.52/ton, which was US$7.72/ton lower than December 2011. North Korea’s coal imports amounted to 690,800 tons in January, a 32.3% decrease from the previous month. It was US$100.76/tonne, a decrease of US$0.63/tonne from December 2011, showing volume and price falling.

In January 2012, Australia’s imports increased to 4.0835 million tons, up 10.78% month-on-month, and up 8.15% year-on-year. The average price in January rose to US$160.73 per ton. According to insider sources, a number of large state-owned economic and trade enterprises have purchased large quantities of Australia's coal in January and accumulate them in April. This is likely to lead to a decline in Australian coal imports. Russia's import volume was 1,119,500 tons, up 12.43% month-on-month, and the unit price was US$155.94/ton, which was US$13.57/ton higher than December 2011. Han Lei, a researcher at China Coal Market Network, analyzed that the increase in coal imports from Russia was mainly due to the cold winter in the Northeast, and the demand for coal in the Northeast market remained high.

In January, Vietnam's imports fell to 1,298,600 tons, a decrease of 36.77% from the previous quarter, and the unit price rose by US$1.1/tonne compared with December 2011. South Africa's imports in January totaled 1,468,100 tons, a decrease of 21.5% from the previous quarter, and the unit price continued to increase slightly by US$0.4/tonne compared with December 2012.