• China’s coal imports slumped to 33.04 million tonnes in June, the lowest monthly total since February 2023 marking a sharp 25.9% year on year decline and an 8.3% drop from May.
• Cumulatively, seaborne coal arrivals over the first half fell to 221.7 million tonnes, down 11.1% compared to the same period last year, signalling a structural downturn in import demand.
• The contraction in total imports was further compounded by a steep 30.0% year on year fall in volumes from Indonesia while Russian coal shipments dropped 19.7% over the same period.
• China’s coal market continues to undergo a significant realignment, driven by record high domestic production and reduced coal fired power generation. Following a historic surge in imports that surpassed 500 million tonnes in 2024, weaker demand has set in since early 2025.
• Domestic raw coal output rose 3.0% year on year in June to 421.0 million tonnes further exacerbating the oversupply.
• For the January-June period, production climbed 6.8% on the year to 2.49 billion tonnes.
Data source: Doric