China’s Dec met coal imports rise 28% MOM to 13.8 mil mt

China imported 13.77 million metric ton of metallurgical coal in December, up 28.3% from November, according to the latest data from the China General Administration of Customs.

Mongolia was the largest supplier to China, with 6.72 million mt in December, up 7.6% from November, accounting for 48.8% of China's total imports for the month. Notably, Mongolia's December share slipped from its prior November share of 58.2%, as seaborne volumes instead increased sharply month over month.

Russia remained the second-largest source of Chinese met coal imports in December, at 3.60 million mt, up 31.3% month over month, contributing to the overall increase in total imports.

Imports from other origins surged in December, led by higher volumes from Australia and Canada. Australia's volumes more than doubled month over month, rising 109.3% to 1.78 million mt, while Canada's volumes were up 110% to 1.10 million mt.

New Zealand-origin volumes re-emerged in December at about 110,000 mt, after imports from the country were last seen in April 2025.

Cumulatively, China imported 118.6 million mt of metallurgical coal in 2025, slipping 3% year over year, according to customs data.

US-origin met coal imports totaled 2.91 million mt in 2025, declining 72.7% year over year, after trade flows were curtailed by tit-for-tat import tariffs between China and the US since February.

Australia delivered 8.86 million mt of met coal to China over the year, accounting for 7.5% of China's total imports, down from 8.5% in 2024.

Imports from Canada reached 10.8 million mt in 2025, up 19.6% year over year, while Russian volumes reached 32.8 million mt, up 7.4% over the same period.

Chinese end-users and traders largely reduced their Australian coal shipments earlier in 2025, amid the availability of more competitively priced coal from Mongolia, Canada and domestic sources, despite a pickup in Australian arrivals toward year-end.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the premium low-vol hard coking coal FOB Australia index averaged $211.90/mt in December, up from $196.75/mt in November. The Platts-assessed premium low-vol HCC CFR China index averaged $205.20/mt in December, down from $208.10/mt in November.