Coal exports from the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia, bounced back in December after a weak month in November, while volumes to India surged and South Korea-bound shipments slumped, DBCT Management data showed Monday.
A total of 5.79 million mt was exported from DBCT in December, down 12% year on year from 6.54 million mt and up 13% from 5.12 million mt in November, it said.
Volumes to India surged to a 15-month high of 1.34 million mt in December, rising 161% from 515,651 mt in December 2016 and a 28% month-on-month rise from 1.05 million mt.
The December figure sees DBCT's exports to India round-out 2017 at 9.67 million mt, topping the 9.20 million mt 2016 figure by 5% but still falling short of the 10.40 million mt sent in 2015.
Total Indian imports of metallurgical coal recovered in the second half of 2017 after the price spike brought on by Tropical Cyclone Debbie hitting the Queensland coast in late March forced Indian steel mills to run down inventories in April-May, the Australian government said last week.
India is also continuing to ramp up its steel production capacity towards its target of 300 million mt/year by 2025, which is helping to underpin metallurgical coal demand, it added.
India's metallurgical coal imports are forecast to have risen from 48 million mt in 2016 to 49 million mt in 2017, and are tipped to rise further to 50 million mt this year and to 53 million mt in 2019.
Meanwhile, shipped volumes of coal from DBCT to South Korea slumped to 535,532 mt in December -- the second lowest monthly total for the year -- having fallen by 57% year on year from 1.23 million mt and 39% month on month from 879,410 mt, DBCT Management data shows.
Total coal exports to South Korea from DBCT in 2017 fell to 9.75 million mt, down 16% from 11.59 million mt in 2016, it showed.
The fall in exports to South Korea last year came despite South Korea's total metallurgical coal imports showing a minor rise in 2017.
"South Korean steel mills were forced to look to Canada, Russia and the US for supply after Cyclone Debbie impacted on Australian exports," the Australian government said.
South Korea's imports of the steelmaking ingredient are expected to have risen from 35 million mt in 2016 to 36 million mt in 2017 and are forecast to increase to 37 million mt/year in both 2018 and 2019, it said.
"Korean steel production will remain firm, as motor vehicle manufacturers and ship builders look to satisfy firm demand," it said.
DBCT coal exports to China slumped 15% year on year to 1.30 million mt in December, from 1.52 million mt, but recovered from a seven-month low of 606,394 mt in November, DBCT Management figures showed.
DBCT's total coal exports to China rose by 7% year on year to 15.00 million mt, from 14.02 million mt, the data showed, as the country's imports were bolstered by strong demand from steel mills as well as constraints on domestic coal production.
DBCT's exports to its second largest destination for the commodity in 2017, Japan, stood at 1.32 million mt in December, down 26% year on year from 1.77 million mt, and up 16% from November's 1.14 million mt, DBCT Management said.
The total for the year slumped by 11% from 14.44 million mt in 2016 to 12.81 million mt.
Total metallurgical coal imports into Japan are estimated to have declined modestly in 2017, the Australian government said.
It listed Japan's metallurgical coal imports for both 2016 and 2017 at 51 million mt/year, and forecasts the volume to grow to 53 million mt/year in both 2018 and 2019.
"Japanese output of crude steel is expected to continue to recover, as the demand for Japanese motor vehicles picks up further," it said.
DBCT's total coal exports stood at 64.50 million mt last year, down 6% from 68.56 million mt in 2016, the figures showed.
DBCT caters for around 7% of total global seaborne coal exports and 21% of world metallurgical seaborne exports, DBCT Management says.
Roughly 80% of coal shipped from the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal is metallurgical, with thermal coal making up the rest.
