China July coal imports rebound as Australia top gainer

China July coal imports rebound as Australia top gainer - coalguru / Reuters | Reuters reported that China's coal imports, excluding lignite, rose 26% in July from the previous month after two months of falls in shipments, as a drop in overseas prices led end users to ramp up orders of Australian coal and restock for peak summer demand. Robust steel production has also led mills to import more coking coal, which jumped 25 percent from the preceding month to 5.88 million tonnes. Customs data showed that China's imports in July, excluding lignite, were at 22.77 million tonnes, compared with 18.04 million tonnes in June. Total shipments in the first seven months were up 13.7% from last year. The strength in July imports, which came after June shipments fell to an 8 month low was a surprise to market participants, as falling domestic prices had narrowed the price advantage of overseas supplies. Analysts said that the jump in the July shipments was in part buoyed by a slump in regional coal prices which saw the benchmark globalCOAL Newcastle index drop AUD 10 within a month to about AUD 77 per tonne its lowest since June 2009. Mr Li Ting a coal analyst with Chang An Energy Research said that "It was a lot of opportunistic buying and end users were taking the opportunity to restock for the peak summer consumption season."