Monthly Chinese imports of bituminous and sub-bituminous thermal coal fell to 9.35 million mt in September, a two-and-a-half-year low, according to China customs statistics Friday.
Combined bituminous and sub-bituminous imports were down 2% on August and 24% lower than a year earlier.
The threat of Chinese government intervention has cast a shadow over the country's coal import volumes this year, with the National Development Reform Commission's 6% import tax on thermal coal the latest regulation designed to reduce international seaborne deliveries.
Combined deliveries of Indonesian bituminous and sub-bituminous coal landing in China in September declined to 2.81 million mt, down 48% on-year and the lowest since March 2011.
Chinese receipts of thermal coal from Australia -- China's second largest importer -- in September fell 7% on-month to 5.29 million mt, a three-month low.
However, imports of lower grade material classified as lignite into China made their first on-month gain since June, with 4.56 million mt of Indonesian material arriving in September, up 34% on August.
