China’s coal imports from its top supplier Indonesia fell 31% in July year-on-year, customs data showed on Wednesday, as softer Chinese demand and lower seaborne prices made Indonesian coal less profitable.

China’s imports from Indonesia totalled 13.18 million metric tons in July, down from 19.24 million tons in the year-ago period.

For the first seven months, shipments from Indonesia fell 15% to 104.16 million tons year-on-year.

“A decline in Indonesian [export] volumes corresponded with softer demand for thermal imports in both China and India, which drove seaborne prices below the per-ton cost of production for a large share of Indonesia’s coal miners,” LSEG analysts said in a note.

“Rationalization of unprofitable capacity tends to be faster in Indonesia compared with other major exporter nations because fixed costs are often a smaller share of total production costs.”

China’s overall coal imports fell 23% in July as ample domestic supply curbed demand.
Source: Reuters