Thermal Coal Prices

Australian thermal coal averaged USD 192.4 per metric ton in April, 7.3% higher than March’s price and down 37.3% from the same month last year. On 28 April, the commodity traded at USD 189.7 per metric ton, up 7.0% from the same day of the previous month.

Prices rose for the first time in four months in April. This was in part due to developments in the market for oil, a coal substitute—oil prices rose early in April after OPEC+ announced it would cut output from May onward. The increase in Australian thermal coal prices was also due to rising demand from China; the country removed all remaining import restrictions in mid-March. Chinese imports from Australia’s largest port, Newcastle, were up 65% in April compared to March, and may receive a further boost should China’s government adopt a new economic stimulus package. That said, Australian thermal coal prices were still less than half as high as the peaks seen last year, weighed down by competition from Russia, high Chinese inventories, and a weak global economy.