Rising Asian thermal coal imports driven by Japan, S.Korea: Russell
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Asia's imports of seaborne thermal coal ticked up in August to the highest in eight months, but the strength was largely driven by North Asia's developed economies rather than the usual heavyweights of China and India.
A total of 79.87 million metric tons of the fuel predominantly used to generate electricity will arrive at Asian ports in August, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.
This is up from 77.1 million tons in July and is the highest since December's 80.54 million.
Asia's demand for thermal coal has accelerated in recent months amid warmer-than-usual summer weather, which has boosted demand for air conditioning.
The increased demand for coal used in power generation has been most keenly felt in the developed economies of North Asia, namely Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Japan, Asia's third-biggest coal importer behind China and India, is on track for imports of 9.09 million tons of thermal coal in August, down from July's 9.53 million, according to Kpler.
But July and August are Japan's two strongest months for thermal coal imports since the peak winter month of January, and August's arrivals are also higher than the 8.91 million in the same month last year.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-ranked coal importer, is on track for imports of 8.27 million tons in August, the highest since July 2022 and up from 6.58 million in July.
Taiwan's imports are estimated at 4.13 million tons in August, down slightly from July's 4.46 million, but these two months are the strongest since September last year.
A common factor between Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is they prefer higher grade thermal coal, with the benchmark being Australian coal loaded at Newcastle port with an energy content of 6,000 kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg).
The index for this grade ARGMCCINDX=ARG, as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, reached the highest since late December in the week to Aug. 23, ending at $146.03 a ton.
This was up marginally from $145.92 a ton the previous week, although the index has rallied 11.7% from its mid-year low of $130.68 reached in the week to June 28.
CHINA, INDIA
While the price of higher quality Australian coal has been driven by rising demand in North Asia, the same cannot be said for lower-grade fuel, which is favoured by China and India, as well as buyers in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
Australian coal with an energy content of 5,500 kcal/kg API5IDXWKY=ARG dropped to $86.41 a ton last week, its fourth straight weekly decline and it's now at the weakest since April.
Indonesian coal with an energy content of 4,200 kcal/kg IDIDX42GRW1=ARG fell to a one-year low $50.64 a ton in the week to Aug. 23, its fifth straight losing week.
Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal and Australia ranks second, while China and India are the biggest buyers of Indonesia cargoes and of lower-grade Australian fuel.
China's imports of seaborne thermal coal edged higher in August to 29.97 million tons, up from 28.52 million July.
However, for the past four months China's thermal coal imports have been effectively flat, anchored in a narrow range around 30 million tons, indicating the strong growth in demand over the past two years appears to be levelling out.
India is on track for imports of 13.45 million tons of seaborne thermal coal imports in August, down a touch from July's 13.67 million.
Similar to China, India's imports for the past three months have been effectively flat around 13.5 million tons.
The steady picture for China and India goes some way to explain the recent gentle downtrend in the prices of lower grade coal, while the rising imports in North Asia's developed economies justify the move up for higher quality coal.
However, North Asia's demand tends to be more seasonal and is about to enter the slack period between the summer and winter peaks, which may put some downward pressure on the Newcastle Index price.
But much will depend on whether utilities in those countries want to keep ample stockpiles ahead of the winter peak, which may lead to stronger-than-usual demand in the shoulder season.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
GRAPHIC-Coal imports by Japan, South Korea, vs Newcastle Index price: https://tmsnrt.rs/3AG2eQe
Editing by Jamie Freed
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.
