Japan’s December coking coal imports decline

Japan's coking coal imports fell in December with a decline in deliveries from top supplier Australia.

The country imported 5.37mn t of coking coal last month, down by 1pc from November and 5pc lower than the corresponding period in 2020, according to data from the Japanese finance ministry. But its January-December imports inched up by 1pc from the previous year to 63.64mn t.

Australian imports of 2.66mn t in December dropped by 16pc on the month and were down by 6pc on year. Labour shortages and weather disruptions weighed on Australian shipments, prompting Australian resources firm BHP to cut its metallurgical coal equity production guidance to 38mn-41mn t from 39mn-44mn t.

Imports from US rose by 55pc from November to 681,135t last month while on year the rise was 1pc.

Arrivals from Indonesia reached 1.3mn t, up by 56pc from a month earlier when there were weather disruptions in Kalimantan. Japan's crude steel production in 2021 rose for the first time in seven years, with December output up by 5.4pc from a year earlier to 7.9mn t.

But uncertainty about steel demand persists, especially with the automotive sector facing a shortage of parts. The Argus premium hard low-vol coking coal index stood at $355/t fob Australia on 31 December, up by $38/t from the end of November. The index averaged $339.98/t fob Australia in December, down by 8pc from $370/t in November.

Japan's metallurgical coke imports of 172,572t in December fell by 26.7pc on the month but were up by 44.5pc on the year. Japan's met coke imports arrived primarily from China.

By Cassia Teo