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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

China Nov coal imports hit 3-year low on soft demand

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

China's coal imports in November fell to a near three-year low, due to continued weak demand from power plants, analysts and traders said. China imported 2.17 million tonnes of coal in November, down 38 percent from the previous month, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Imports in the first 11 months fell 18.4 percent on the year to 38.11 million tonnes, the data showed.
Weak demand from power plants caused the sharp fall, and there was no sign of immediate recovery, traders said.
China's power output in November fell 9.6 percent on year, the fastest decline on record. Output from thermal plants also suffered a sharp 16.6 percent fall, the data showed.
"We are importing very little because demand is very low," said a trader based in the southern province of Guangdong.
Coal stocks at ports have been falling, not because consumption had sped up, but because few coal wagons and ships had arrived, traders and analysts said.
Coal stocks at Qinhuangdao, China's top coal shipping port, have fallen nearly 18 percent from its record high in November, to 7.7 million tonnes on Monday.
"Traders just want to sell of their stocks to protect themselves from losing more money," said a second Guangdong-based trader, adding that many traders are bearish on next year's coal prices.
"It is unlikely we will see a rebound in coal imports any time soon," said Judy Zhu, an analyst at Standard Chartered Bank.
"Power plants, mines and ports all have really high coal stocks, there is no reason to import more."
China exported 2.69 million tonnes of coal in November, maintaining its status as a minor net exporter of the hydrocarbon, according to the official customs data.
Exporters are desperate to sell due to faltering domestic demand.
"Suppliers are pushing for more shipments," said a Beijing-based trader, expecting China's coal As adapted from Alibaba.com

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