SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE : Chinese interest in Australian coal has been limited by the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday and high domestic inventories, meaning few deals have been completed since China lifted an unofficial ban on imports last week.
The resumption of the coal trade between Australia and its largest trading partner China after a three-year halt is being watched as a test case for the return of shipments of other Australian goods such as wine and barley which accounted for billions of dollars of trade between the two nations. An Australian mining executive said their company received enquires from Chinese coal buyers for cargoes of metallurgical and thermal coal in late November - around the time that the leaders of China and Australia met during the G20 conference - on the availability for cargoes for the first half of 2023, which he described as"tyre-kicking"."The easing of Australian coal import restriction coincide with the approach of Lunar New Year ...
Coal storage at power plants were 30.5 million tonnes, around 9 per cent lower year-on-year, ahead of week-long Lunar New Year celebration that starts on Jan 21st.