Australia increased coking coal exports by 3% y/y in the first half of the year

Australia in the first half of 2024 increased the export of coking coal by 3% year on year – up to 75.5 million tons, BigMint reports.

In June, this figure increased by more than 11% compared to May – to 14.43 million tons.

Deliveries of coking coal from Australia resumed in March-June after weather disruptions that arose at the beginning of the year. In addition, the increase in exports was due to the approaching end of the fiscal year (ended June 30).

In the first half of 2024, the dynamics of Australian coking coal exports to key Asian markets changed. Thus, supplies to India during this period fell by 6.5% y/y – up to 19.12 million tons, to Japan – by 1% y/y – up to 15.75 million, to South Korea – by 7.6%, up to 8.41 million tons.

In turn, in January-June, the export of Australian coking coal to China increased – three times compared to the same period in 2023, to 6.56 million tons.

The supply of this raw material to Vietnam during this period decreased by 42.5% year on year, to 3.69 million tons.

Australian coking coal prices fell by 30% YoY in the first half of 2024 – up to $150/ton FOB compared to $225/ton in the same period in 2023. This was against the backdrop of declining demand and low buying interest from major Asian countries.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the mining companies of Australia in January-May 2024 increased the export of iron ore raw materials by 2% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 347 million tons. Rio Tinto was the largest exporter of iron ore from Australia with a result of 118.6 million tons (-4% y/y). BHP and FMG shipped 113 million tons and 80.5 million tons, respectively.