China’s Qinhuangdao stocks near four-month high

摘要

Coal inventories at China’s main coal transshipment port of Qinhuangdao surged to their highest levels in nearly four months as utility offtake declined amid rising temperatures. Stocks at Qinhuangdao port totalled 6.37mn t at the end of yesterday, an increase of 450,000t on the week from 5.92mn t on 11 March. This is the highest level since 28 November 2019 when stocks scaled 6.38mn t. Domestic coal output has increased further with more mines able to increase operating capacity as the coronavirus outbreak is gradually brought under control in China. The oversupply in the domestic market has prompted a few major state-owned producers such as China Energy Investment (CEI) and Datong to reduce prices by 8-9 yuan/t for spot NAR 5,500 kcal/kg coal cargoes.