China’s coal imports in January rose
3.9 percent from a year earlier to 19.7 million metric tons, the
China Coal Transport and Distribution Association said, citing
the customs bureau.
Excluding lignite, China’s coal imports were at 16.4
million tons, down 23 percent from December’s 21.4 million tons,
the association said on its website today. The General
Administration of Customs added lignite to its calculation
starting this year, the group said.
Lower domestic coal prices and high stockpiles at power
plants caused the decline in coal imports from a month earlier,
the association said. China’s customs bureau is due to release
official January import data on Feb. 21.
Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per
kilogram at the port of Qinhuangdao, a domestic benchmark for
spot rates, fell 2.5 percent since January to a range of 770
yuan to 780 yuan a ton as of Feb. 12, data from the association
showed.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jing Yang in Shanghai at
jyang251@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christian Schmollinger at
christian.s@bloomberg.net