COAL

摘要

With the majority of 2017 trade data now confirmed, world seaborne coking coal trade is estimated to have totalled approximately 295.0 Mt, which was virtually unchanged from 2016, despite last year's advances in world steel production. Indeed, the combination of robust steel demand and severely disrupted Australian supply (by cyclone activity in March/April), ensured that coking coal spot prices spiked to six-year highs. In response, US suppliers raised exports by almost 13 Mt from their seven-year low in 2016, to an annual total of 46 Mt (which remained some way short of the 59 Mt shipped in both 2011 and 2012).