China's coal imports rose in August – Commerzbank

As transport data had previously indicated, China imported significantly more coal in August than in previous months: according to data from the Chinese customs authority, 42.7 million tons of coal were imported, the highest level since December last year, Commerzbank's commodity analyst Barbara Lambrecht notes.

China's coal imports to decline

"This was 16% or 6 million tons more than the monthly average for the first seven months of the year. There were two reasons for the increase in imports: firstly, domestic prices had risen after the government capped production in order to support them. Secondly, domestic demand was high because a heatwave had driven up demand for air conditioning."

"Nevertheless, imports in August remained below the previous year's level, and in the first eight months, they were down 12.2% year-on-year at just under 300 million tons. We expect China's coal imports to decline due to the massive expansion of renewable energies."