According to Reuters article published on November 7, 2022, China's coal imports slipped in October after hitting a 10-month high in September, as Beijing's ultra-strict COVID-19 restrictions dampened demand for the power generation fuel.
Coal arrivals in October totalled 29.18 million tonnes, up 8.3% from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Coal imports hit 33.05 million tonnes in the prior month.
For the first 10 months of 2022, the world's biggest coal consumer brought in a total of 230.1 million tonnes, down 10.5% on the year, customs data showed.
China has reported hundreds of daily COVID-19 cases across the country since late September and local governments have imposed strict mobility rules to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Residential demand for power is expected to pick up as the weather gets colder, but there is still little sign of improving industrial consumption as Beijing's strict COVID-19 measures crimp economic activity.
Most of northern China is scheduled to enter the heating season in two weeks and China relies on coal to power more than 70% of its heating boilers, despite Beijing's push to switch to natural gas that emits less carbon dioxide.
Coal-fired power and heating plants typically start to build inventory in October. The average coal stocks at major utilities reached a level equivalent to 25 days of use in late October, according to the China Electricity Council.
Power plants are now seeking thermal coal for mid-November and early-December arrival, mostly cheap and low quality cargoes, as they are struggling to reach break-even in their balance sheet, said traders.
But a stronger dollar is making imported coal more expensive for Chinese buyers and eating into profit margins at power plants.
Meanwhile, transport infrastructure limitations in Russia also restrained China's coal purchases from the country.
