Experts claim that China’s net coal imports will reach 120 million tons this year

August 19, vice chairman of China Coal Transportation and Marketing Association Wu Cheng thick at the 2010 International Summit of coking coal industry chain said it expects full-year 2010 net imports of coal will exceed last year, reaching 120 million tons, coking coal prices will fluctuate in the second half Downstream, gradually stabilize the trend of operation.

Wu Chenghou said that China will continue to be a net importer of coal for a certain period of time. The globalization of coal supply will become more apparent and import trends will affect the pattern of China's coal market.

He believes that the recovery of the world economy has weakened and the growth momentum of international coal demand is insufficient. The current international coal price has partially overdrawn future expectations, requiring a long period of high-level consolidation; changes in international crude oil and other related energy prices also have an important impact on the international coal price trend. In such an international coal market environment, China's coal imports will continue to maintain an average daily average of 10 million tons.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, in 2009, the country had a net import of 103 million tons of coal, becoming the first net importer of coal. [Source Financial Network]

Analysis of data Wu Cheng thick provided, in June 2010 China imported coal price of $ 101.61 / ton, compared to $ 81.82 / ton, or 24.19 percent; imports in June coking coal average price of $ 142.87 / ton, compared to 116.93 USD/ton, an increase of 22.18%.

He said that in the first half of 2010, coking coal resources were in short supply, coking coal demand growth slowed down, supply increased rapidly, and prices steadily declined. The slowdown in the growth rate of the downstream steel industry will weaken the pull of steel consumption.

Wu Chenghou predicts that the international coking coal supply will increase significantly in the second half of the year, and the net import of coking coal will remain flat or slightly increase. Judging from the capacity of the major coking coal new transportation channels, transportation will not restrict the exertion of new coking coal production capacity.