China coal imports from Russia at lowest level in 8 months

The drop in shipments follows the introduction of new export duties on Russian goods. This has made Russian imports more expensive, affecting shipments of some products, including coal, to China.

According to trade sources, thermal coal prices were as high as around $102 per tonne in Russia's eastern ports in early November. However, this was close to the level of Australian coal of the same quality at around $95 per ton.

Although Russian coal inflows in October remained 19% higher than in the same period in 2022, imports from Mongolia fell from 6.71 million tons to 5.01 million tons.

Over the same period, coal shipments from Indonesia fell from 18.06 million tons in September to 15.78 million tons last month.

Coal shipments from Australia reached 4.99 million tons in October, up slightly from the previous month's level.