China's August Coal Imports Dip 2% as Domestic Supply Pressures Ease

China's coal imports contracted in August, slipping 2% from a year earlier to 42.09 million metric tons, according to customs data released on Tuesday. The monthly figure also marked a decline from July's 43.73 million metric tons.

The dip points to a gradual easing of domestic supply bottlenecks that had tightened earlier in the year. Toby Hassall, lead coal analyst at LSEG, noted that the modest month-on-month reduction suggests constraints in China's domestic coal output were less severe in August. Vessel tracking data further indicated lower import volumes from Australia and Indonesia during the month.

The supply squeeze had been triggered by a fatal gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province on May 22, which killed 82 people. In the aftermath, numerous mines halted operations for safety inspections, curbing domestic output.

Despite the August slowdown, cumulative imports for the first seven months of the year rose 3% to 310.19 million tons. Separately, fossil-fuel-based power generation—predominantly coal-fired—fell 3.5% in July, marking the first year-on-year decline in 2024, as abundant rainfall in the southwest boosted hydropower output. August power generation figures are expected later this month.