China's Coking Coal Imports Fell About 30% in October

China sharply cut coking coal imports in October as demand for steel fell short of expectations and hit steelmakers' profit margins and output.

According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, China imported 7.98 million tons of coking coal last month. Although up 28.5% year-on-year, imports fell sharply by 26.3% compared with the all-time high reached in September. During this period, exports from Mongolia fell 30.1% month-on-month to 3.68 million tons; exports from Russia fell 23.1% month-on-month to 1.99 million tons.

China's raw material imports have weakened as the steel market situation worsened, despite numerous safety inspections at Chinese coal mines following multiple accidents that disrupted supply. In September, when most of the coking coal deals for October shipping were concluded, China's steel output fell to its lowest level since the beginning of the year, at 82.11 million tons, as demand recovery failed to meet expectations. According to Metal Expert, crude steel output from Chinese steel mills continued to decline in October, reaching only 79.09 million tons.

From January to October, China's coking coal imports surged 57.1% year-on-year to 81.12 million tons.