Japan's coking coal imports increase in October
Japanese coking coal imports rose in October as the country increased shipments from Australia and Canada despite an increase in spot prices.
Japan imported 5.78mn t of coking coal in October, up by 11pc from 5.21mn t in September and an increase of 6pc from October 2018, according to finance ministry data.
October imports from top supplier Australia rose by 18.5pc from the previous month to 2.19mn t, while shipments from Canada in October were up by 36pc from the previous month to 833,191t.
Japan's October imports from the US fell by 8pc from the previous month to 720,538t, while imports from Russia dropped by 8.1pc over the same period. Other coking coal import volumes last month were 94,775t from New Zealand, 32,000t from China and 28,997t from Mozambique.
Japanese imports from Indonesia were 1.08mn t, but much of this is mislabelled low-ash thermal coal used by steel producers at their captive power plants.
The Argus spot price assessment for premium low-volatile hard coking coal averaged $147.67/t fob Australia in October, up by 4.8pc from $140.96/t on the same basis in September.
Japanese metallurgical coke imports in October fell by 26pc from a month earlier to 27,577t, which was also well below volumes from October 2018 at 205,056t as Japanese steel mills cut production rates amid weaker steel prices. Nearly all of the met coke imported by Japan last month came from China.
By Greg Holt
source: Argus Media
Top News
Six last month
Iran Alloy Steel Company intends to purchase 12 tons of ferrotungsten through public tender
Iran Alloy Steel Company intends to purchase 150 tons of Low-Carbon Ferro Manganese through public tender
Gold price faces worst week since 2021 as Fed signals no rate-cut rush
Iron ore price flirts with key $100/t level on firm demand, China stimulus hopes
Gold loses some luster after Trump’s decisive win
Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
Resolute Mining says it will pay Mali $160 million in tax dispute
Families gather at South African mine shaft where hundreds are feared stuck underground
Russia takes aim at US nuclear power by throttling uranium
Earth AI, Legacy Minerals make first greenfield palladium discovery using artificial intelligence
Mexico’s proposed higher mining royalties could block nearly $7bn in investments
Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Alrosa plans production cuts and staff reduction for 2025
Chile’s rare salt flat fish face threat from lithium mining project
Endeavour Silver raises $73m for Pitarrilla project
BHP to spend up to $14 billion on Chilean copper expansion
Chile’s rare salt flat fish faces threat from lithium mining project
British Columbia creates new mining ministry to tackle critical minerals amid doubts over capacity
China’s germanium, gallium ban could cost the US $3.4 billion
Iran Alloy Steel Company intends to purchase 12 tons of ferrotungsten through public tender
Iran Alloy Steel Company intends to purchase 150 tons of Low-Carbon Ferro Manganese through public tender
Earth AI, Legacy Minerals make first greenfield palladium discovery using artificial intelligence
Mexico’s proposed higher mining royalties could block nearly $7bn in investments
Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Alrosa plans production cuts and staff reduction for 2025
Chile’s rare salt flat fish face threat from lithium mining project
Endeavour Silver raises $73m for Pitarrilla project
Chile’s rare salt flat fish faces threat from lithium mining project