Australian Coal Finally Lands in Oversupplied Chinese Market
- Steel mills may switch from Mongolian coal after prices rose
- Beijing’s modest targets for growth could weigh on market
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Australian coal is finally flowing to China, opening up another avenue for shipments in what’s shaping up as an increasingly oversupplied market this year.
Some 207,000 tons arrived in China in February, including 73,000 tons of the higher-grade coking coal prized by steel mills, according to customs data. Although the total is just a sliver of China’s massive import haul of over 60 million tons so far this year, they’re Australia’s first new cargoes since Beijing imposed its unofficial ban in late 2020 after relations with Canberra soured.