China May Double Thermal Coal Imports by 2015, Noble Says

May 30, 2011 1:34 PM GMT+0530
By Dinakar Sethuraman and Yoga Rusmana

China may more than double thermal coal imports to 200 million metric tons by 2015 from 90 million last year, said Neil Dhar, executive vice president at Noble Group. Imports this year may be unchanged from 2010, he said.

India’s overseas purchases of the power-station fuel may increase to 67 million tons this year and 100 million by 2015, from 58 million in 2010, Dhar said at the Coaltrans Asia conference in Bali today. China’s domestic consumption will be 3.5 billion tons and India may use 1 billion tons by 2015.

Australia and Indonesia will mainly supply China and India and additional volumes may come from the U.S. west coast and South Africa, Singapore-based Dhar said. The industry is witnessing cost pressures, which will keep prices high, he said, declining to give details.
(sourced Bloomberg)