Chinese Jan-May thermal imports reach 54mt

摘要

CHINESE steam COAL imports continued to surge in May, bringing total thermal coal imports for the first five months of the year to 54mt, almost double the same period last year when 28.0mt was imported.In May alone, China imported 13.5mt of steam coal, which was up 19% on the previous month (11.4mt) and up 80% on May last year (7.51mt), according to Chinese customs data.Indonesia remained the largest supplier of steam coal to China in May, with 5.54mt received from there, which was up 5% on the previous month (5.27mt), but 2% lower than May 2011 (5.63mt).However, Australian material accounted for 4.90mt delivered during May this year, which marked a record high for monthly volumes from that origin. The previous month saw 3.32mt imported, while May last year saw 0.36mt.