GLOBAL
Asia's coal imports decline, but Ukraine crisis will keep prices up Asia's imports of coal slumped in February as prices remained close to record highs for both thermal and coking grades, and the crisis in Ukraine means the cost of the fuel is unlikely to retreat any time soon. Seaborne imports of all grades of coal across Asia, the top-consuming region for the polluting fuel, fell to 59.27 million tonnes in February from 61.92 million in January, according to port and vessel-tracking data compiled by Refinitiv. This was the lowest monthly total in Refinitiv data dating back to January 2015, and was also some 13% below the 68.15 million tonnes the continent imported by ship in February 2021.
24 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter March 2022
A milder winter across north Asia, high prices and the lingering effects of Indonesia's shortlived export ban for the month of January are the most likely culprits behind the drop in February import volumes. China, the world's biggest coal importer, has recorded a weak start to 2022, with February imports of 11.65 million tonnes marginally higher than January's 11.27 million, but the combined total for the first two months of the year is the lowest Refinitiv has assessed. Imports in the first two months of 22.92 million tonnes are 46.2% below the 42.58 million recorded in the first two months of last year, according to Refinitiv.
