US Coking Coal Exports Reach Nine-Month High

Coal

At 3.1 Mt, US coking coal exports (excluding Canada) rose to a nine-month high in December, although were still 0.5 Mt below the year-go level, US trade data show. Despite a stronger end to the year, exports in 2020 totalled 34.8 Mt, down 11.4 Mt year-on-year. The decline featured noticeable drops in shipments to Japan (-2.7 Mt to 3.3 Mt) and Europe (-5.1 Mt to 16.6 Mt).

Meanwhile, exports of steam coal (excluding Canada) tumbled by nearly 10 Mt annually to 23.6 Mt in 2020. Shipments to both Egypt and Japan fell to their lowest levels since 2016, while exports to India actually increased, up 0.2 Mt to 7.6 Mt. Exports did, however, rise on an annual basis for the last two months of the year.