Coal
Overview
Global thermal coal prices surged to record levels in 2022, experiencing unprecedented volatility. Prices have since come off as risks associated with Europe’s supply recede. At a global level, coal demand remains robust with security of supply shifting higher up the agenda of many governments in light of geopolitical upheaval.
In Europe, sanctions have shifted the region’s coal import mix away from Russia and towards other suppliers. The pace of coal plant phase-outs in the region is set to increase in the years ahead, with the role of coal in the electricity mix shifting further towards peak-load usage, making forward planning more challenging.
In Asia-Pacific, thermal coal remains a pillar of the power and industrial sectors. Global coal trade flows and price spreads are shifting, with flows from key suppliers Russia, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Colombia, and the US penetrating new markets, in response to price dynamics and trade barriers.
Keeping on top of prices and flows, and how coal markets intersect with other energy and commodity benchmarks, will be critical in the coming years.
Latest coal news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global coal industry.
Thermal coal throughput rises at Indian state ports
Thermal coal throughput rises at Indian state ports
Singapore, 12 August (Argus) — Cumulative thermal coal throughput at India's 12 major state ports increased by just under 5pc on the year in April-July, despite a generally weak import trend during the period, according to data from India's Port Association (IPA). The increase was likely in part driven by the coastal movement of domestic cargoes. The data include transshipped and imported cargoes but does not provide a breakdown. Paradip, on the east coast, accounted for the largest share of the throughput in April-July at 18.9mn t, up from 17.2mn t a year earlier. Kamarajar, formerly known as Ennore, handled 7.98mn t, up from 7.73mn t a year earlier. Deendayal, on the west coast, handled around 6.5mn t of thermal coal, up from about 6.28mn t a year earlier. Mumbai's throughput rose to 3.48mn t from 2.86mn t, while V.O. Chidambaranar handled around 2.8mn t in the four-month period, up from just over 2.45mn t a year earlier. The increase in thermal coal throughput at the ports came despite generally weaker imports, which have been pressured by high domestic supplies. India's coal-fired power generation reached a record high in July because a weak and uneven monsoon curbed hydropower output and supported cooling demand across the country. Coal-fired generation rose by 13pc on the year to 114.7TWh in July, the highest level recorded for the month and 8.4pc above the previous July record of 105.8TWh set in 2024, according to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data. India's coal output rose for a second month in July to meet strong summer power demand, sustaining a coal surplus, and dampening demand for seaborne coal. By Andrew Jones Indian state port thermal coal throughput '000 t Ports Apr-Jul '26 Apr-Jul '25 SMP, Kolkata 695 768 Paradip 18,882 17,241 Visakhaptnam 3,378 3,211 Kamarajar (Ennore) 7,976 7,732 Chennai 0 0 VO. Chidambaaranar 2,798 2,453 Cochin 0 0 New Mangalore 1,861 2,407 Mormugao 477 783 Mumbai 3,484 2,855 J.N.P.A. 0 0 Deendayal 6,496 6,275 All ports 46,047 43,905 Source: Indian Ports Association Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US extends but narrows Jones Act waiver
US extends but narrows Jones Act waiver
New York, 10 August (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration said it will continue to waive domestic shipping requirements under the Jones Act for another 90 days, albeit with stronger oversight than the previous waiver. The waiver, first enacted 17 March, will now require the Department of Defense to consult with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) on the availability of Jones Act vessels prior to an individual shipping voyage before determining whether the waiver can be applied, a White House official told Argus . This marks a shift from the waiver's current iteration, valid through 16 August, that relies on the vessel operator or charterer documenting their reasoning. As of 7 August, MARAD data show that around half of the reasons given for the 212 documented Jones Act waiver voyages simply cite the shipment's coverage under the waiver, while only 19 entries mention Jones Act vessels not being available. The new waiver still covers most products that were covered previously, such as diesel, gasoline, crude, soybean oil and fertilizers, but coal and coal-derived products are no longer allowed, according to the official. US-based shipping groups expressed strong opposition to a waiver extension, particularly under the existing blanket waiver authority used since March. "The government can respond to a genuine emergency without turning an exceptional waiver into a standing invitation for foreign operators to enter routine domestic commerce," former US federal maritime commissioner William Doyle said in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on 10 August. The Trump administration issued the waiver of the Jones Act — which allowed foreign flagged and owned vessels to carry US-to-US shipments in place of US-flagged, US-owned and US-crewed vessels — on 17 March on national security grounds under section 501a and later extended it by 90 days. But some of the voyages conducted under the waiver have been criticized by the domestic maritime industry as not serving any national security purpose . The waiver was issued to ensure US airfields and military installations are properly supplied with fuel, but has otherwise been highly popular with US refiners. Republican lawmakers urged Trump in July to restore the Jones Act, calling the waiver "a loophole exploited by adversarial countries to erode America's maritime dominance". By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Senate starts recess without permitting deal
US Senate starts recess without permitting deal
Washington, 10 August (Argus) — The US Senate left town on Saturday for a five-week summer break without finishing its work on a bipartisan infrastructure permitting bill, complicating the path to enacting the legislation this year. Getting the bill done before the August recess was the "best chance" for it to become law, Senate Environment Committee chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) said in June. But on 8 August, the Senate recessed after voting 90-6 for a funding bill that would avoid a shutdown in seven weeks. Senate negotiators have yet to release any text of the permitting bill, and they only have three weeks in session before the midterm elections on 3 November. Oil and renewable industry officials see an increasing likelihood that any votes on the permitting bill will not take place until after the midterms. If Democrats win control of either chamber, Republicans see slim chances to pass a permitting bill in the lame duck session or the next two years because of friction between Democrats and President Donald Trump. "It's going to be almost a dead issue from my perspective, in terms of thinking that the House is going to be able to do something constructive if the House flips," US senator Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma) said on 29 July. Congressional negotiators say they are not giving up on permitting, although they are floating the idea of narrowing the bill's scope to focus on issues with bipartisan agreement. Timing will not be an issue if the final bill has broad enough support among Republicans and Democrats, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) said in a podcast interview POLITICO published on 3 August. He attributed delays with the bill to the Trump administration rather than his Republicans counterparts. "It has been the White House that consistently throws up new challenges, and that just makes it harder for us to sell any product to our caucuses," Heinrich said. Democrats have spent the last year warning the White House that taking further steps to undermine wind and solar development would make it more difficult for them to support a permitting bill, with little apparent success. The administration halted work on offshore wind projects that were under construction until they were blocked in court. The US Department of Defense was recently ordered by a federal judge to restart reviews of wind farms that had been frozen for a year. A recent proposal by the administration to weaken enforcement of the National Historic Preservation Act was "not helpful" to permitting legislation, Heinrich said. Republicans who are pushing for a permitting deal say it would be short-sighted of Democrats to scuttle a deal just because the administration has been blocking some projects. Armstrong, who was the executive chairman of pipeline company Williams before being appointed to the Senate, said a permitting bill would address the issue Democrats want to resolve. "Our industry's had its toes stepped on plenty of times," Armstrong said on 29 July. "I totally understand the emotions of that, but this is about legislating in a way that we don't have to tolerate that." The White House appears poised to unilaterally make changes to permitting policy even absent any legislation, although oil and renewable industry officials say those changes would not offer the certainty they need to invest billions of dollars in new infrastructure. As early as this month, the administration plans to finalize changes to make it harder for states to block "section 401" water permits for pipelines and to propose new rules for offshore wind permitting, according to a regulatory dashboard. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US steam coal exports hit 20-month high in June
US steam coal exports hit 20-month high in June
Cheyenne, 4 August (Argus) — US thermal coal exports jumped to a 20-month high in June, reflecting continued interest from South Korea and Japan in sub-bituminous coal and increased early summer demand elsewhere. A little over 4.5mn short tons (st) (4.1mn metric tonnes) of US steam coal and anthracite left the country during the month, the US Commerce Department reported today. A year earlier, the US exported 2.9mn st of thermal coal and anthracite. The last time US steam coal exports were higher than in June was in October 2024. June also was the fourth consecutive month that exports were higher than they had been a year earlier. Sub-bituminous coal again led the increase in overall US thermal coal exports, rising to high of 895,611st in June from 267,970st a year earlier. June's sub-bituminous coal exports were the highest since December 2013. Nearly all of the US sub-bituminous coal exports went to South Korea and Japan, with utilities in both countries gearing up for projected stronger summer cooling demand and looking to offset tighter Indonesian coal export availability. A trace amount of US sub-bituminous coal went to Canada and Mexico in June. Exports of US bituminous coal and most other thermal coal also increased in June from a year earlier. Exports to Asia increased, with greater bituminous thermal coal shipments to Japan and Thailand more than offseting a dip in shipments to India and Pakistan. India, however, was still the largest destination for US thermal coal, with 1.06mn st of bituminous thermal coal being listed as heading to India in June, compared with 1.15mn st a year earlier. US thermal coal exports to Europe climbed for a third month, to 573,666st from 36,537st. Most of the coal was headed to the Netherlands, possibly reflecting some utility inventory re-stocking at Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp ports around the start of the summer. June's increased exports to some countries also may have reflected deals made at times when seaborne prices and demand spiked because of concerns that the blockade of the strait of Hormuz was restricting natural gas and other energy commodity movements. US coal producer Alliance Resource Partners' chief executive office Joseph Craft on 27 July reported adding 2.7mn st of exports for 2026-28 to its contractual commitments during a "brief period" of the second quarter "when export pricing presented attractive opportunities". US steam coal exports to north Africa — namely Morocco and Egypt — increased in June from a year earlier. Exports to Morocco rose after two months of year-on-year declines, rising to 780,767st from 520,481st. The US also exported thermal coal to Kenya in June. Within the Americas, more US steam coal was headed to Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Mexico in June when compared with a year earlier. But overall US thermal coal exports to Central and South America fell, to a little under 222,222st in June from 289,747st in the same month of 2025, on the back of lower shipments to the Dominican Republic and Chile. By Courtney Schlisserman US thermal coal export destinations st Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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