Russian coal exports remain high

Total Russian coal rail exports were almost flat on the year in October but rose by 3pc on the month to 17.75mn t.

Year-on-year increases were registered at southern and far eastern ports, while shipments to border crossings and Latvian ports fell sharply from October last year amid weakening demand.

Coal shipments to Russia's southern ports were up by almost 15pc on the month and 50pc on the year to 1.53mn t, rail data show. The increase was supported by state-owned railway operator RZD's decision to provide a 7.41pc discount for coal shipments along the North Caucasian railway until the end of the year. RZD approved around 90pc of applied-for supply or 1.89mn t of coal to be supplied through southern ports this month.

Russian coal exports through far eastern ports rose by almost 4pc on the month and by 16pc on the year to 6.68mn t, according to rail data. Dispatches to the largest ports in the region — Vostochny and Vanino — continued rising in October as demand recovers in Asia-Pacific ahead of the new heating season. Shippers faced significant difficulties with supplying coal to far eastern ports in September, but things improved in October and November amid minimal maintenance work on railway lines.

Exports to Russia's northwestern ports fell by around 5pc from September but were almost unchanged on the year at 4.55mn t, railway data show. The decline was mainly a result of reduced dispatches to Vysotsk, which were down by 10pc on the month to 530,000t. RZD approved around 86pc of applied-for supply or 4.73mn t of coal to be supplied through northwestern ports in November.

Total overland shipments of Russian coal were around 3.54mn t last month, stable on the month but down from 4.63mn t in October 2018. The year-on-year decline was mainly a result of limited supply to Ukraine and Poland. The downtrend is continuing in November, as China has banned coal imports.

Find more news, price information and market analysis on Russian coal exports in Argus Russian Coal report.