LAUNCESTON, Australia- As seaborne coal in Asia trades at, or near, record highs, there are early signs of demand destruction, especially among price-sensitive buyers such as India.
While global seaborne coal volumes have been trending higher in recent months, the market is increasingly becoming split between those importers willing to pay the high prices, and those cutting back on the number of cargoes they are buying.
The total volume of exports of all grades of coal worldwide for September is estimated at 122.8 million tons by commodity consultants Kpler, the strongest month since December 2019.
But looking at the breakdown by country for imports in recent months shows the effect of the surge in prices for both thermal coal, used in power plants, and coking coal, used to make steel.
India, the world’s second-largest coal importer behind China, is forecast by Kpler to land 13.3 million tons in September, which would be the weakest monthly outcome since June 2020, when imports slumped because of the economic hit from lockdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
