[Ferro-Alloys.com] China imported 3.57mn t of coking coal last month, down by 4pc from 3.72mn t in November but up by 110pc from December 2019, according to Chinese customs data. The country's overall 2020 imports fell by 3pc on the year.

Arrivals from Canada rose by 63pc from a month earlier to 510,000t in December, the highest in seven months. Russian imports increased to a record high in December, driven mainly by robust Chinese demand for Russian coal with shorter waiting times for customs clearance, particularly pulverised coal injection (PCI). US imports also rose by 80pc on the month in December.

Electricity consumption in most parts of China for the first quarter of 2021 could rise by 20pc from the same period last year, according to the country's largest utility State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC). This would support thermal coal demand.

SGCC and its subsidiaries supplied just over 5,833TWh in 2020, or nearly 78pc of the national total. SGCC said yesterday that it expects to supply 20pc more power for January-March, with lower temperatures than a year earlier potentially sustaining heating demand. It said power demand was lower during the first quarter of 2020 because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a lower base for comparison this year. China consumed 1,570TWh of electricity in January-March 2020, a decline of 6.5pc year on year, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

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