Coal Imports Into China Jumped 34% to Record in July,

Saturday, 20 August 2011

AZNCoal imports into China, the world’s biggest consumer, jumped 34 percent to a record in July, said Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. Shipments climbed “sharply”

from a year earlier to 17.53 million metric tons, Mark Pervan, an analyst at ANZ in Melbourne, said in a report today.
China bought more low-quality coal, according to the report. Imports came to 3.63 million tons for the anthracite variety, 4.05 million tons for coking coal and 9.85 million tons for thermal coal, it showed.
Coking coal is used to make steel, while thermal coal is burned to generate power. China is the world’s biggest steel producer.
Imports are set to accelerate next month or in October as utilities start to restock in anticipation of stronger winter demand, Pervan said. “Signs of a pickup in Chinese activity are supporting China imported coal prices,” he said.

Source Bloomberg