China December coal imports set to slump on new curbs: Traders

Coal imports by the world's top consumer of the material used for power generation, heating and steel making rose in the first 10 months of 2018 to 252 million tonnes, up 11 percent from a year ago and not far below last year's total of 279 million tonnes, according to official data.

China's coal imports are set to slump in December as traders and utilities wind back purchases following signals from Beijing that it will stop clearing shipments until next year, trading companies and utilities told Reuters.

Coal imports by the world's top consumer of the material used for power generation, heating and steel making rose in the first 10 months of 2018 to 252 million tonnes, up 11 percent from a year ago and not far below last year's total of 279 million tonnes, according to official data.

However, domestic coal prices have eased in recent months, even as China enters its peak demand season over winter, with utilities sitting on record coal stocks amid a slowdown in electricity demand growth.

"Customs have tightened up imports because domestic supplies are abundant," said Zhang Min, senior coal analyst with Sublime China. "We did not see the usual winter stocking activities from utilities because they have so much inventory."

China National Building Materials International (CNBM), a major buyer of Indonesian and Australian coal, will stop buying foreign supplies in December for its utility clients, a senior executive with the company said.

"Although Beijing did not issue an official document, we were told by utility clients that they need to keep imports this year below last year's level," said the executive, who declined to be named as they are not allowed to be quoted by media.

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A manager at Huaneng Group, one of China's major utilities, confirmed that he was told by the country's chief economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), to rein in purchases to ensure China's imports do not exceed last year's level.

IMPORT CURBS

China has in the past imposed coal import restrictions, which has had the effect of increasing local prices by lowering competition. Earlier this year it banned smaller ports from receiving coal and it has also carried out strict inspections on low-quality coal.

Huaneng currently has some cargoes on the water near ports, unable to dock because of the delayed import clearance, the manager said.