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.
EIA delays some reports after staffing cuts: Correction
EIA delays some reports after staffing cuts: Correction
Corrects the name of delayed biofuels report in 5th paragraph. Washington, 29 August (Argus) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has delayed the publication of a handful of reports and is proposing the cancellation of another after losing about 30pc of its staff since President Donald Trump began his second term. The delays to reports on uranium prices, solar panel shipments and biofuels are the latest sign of strain at the agency since it lost more than 100 staff from voluntary buyouts and other cuts pursued by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, EIA dropped plans to release its I n ternational Energy Outlook this year because of a loss of key staff. Oil and gas producers, utility executives, traders, regulators, analysts and others often rely on data and reports from the EIA, an independent agency that is responsible for collecting and analyzing energy data. EIA declined to comment on whether staffing affected the timing of its reports, but said it was committed to publishing reliable data. "We remain committed to meeting high statistical standards, and we will not publish any data or analysis that doesn't meet those standards," EIA said. An annual report on uranium purchases and prices that since 1996 had been published by June is now set for release in September, according to the agency's website. EIA's annual renewable diesel fuel and other biofuels plant production capacity report, initially set for release in August, should be coming out in September, an agency official said. EIA has yet to release a monthly report on solar photovoltaic modules since last December, and today the agency proposed canceling the report entirely. The last version of the report showed that shipments of solar modules increased to a peak wattage of 33GW in 2023, a sixfold increase to 2013, while the price per peak watt had fallen in half. "EIA has determined that the value of the data collected by the survey no longer exceeds the burden of collecting and publishing it," the agency said in a formal notice requesting comment on its plan to end the report. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trump administration dismisses rail regulator
Trump administration dismisses rail regulator
Houston, 28 August (Argus) — The administration of President Donald Trump dismissed a Democratic member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the US rail regulator charged with weighing a mega-merger between Class I carriers Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern to create the first US transcontinental railroad. Robert Primus, one of two Democratic members of the STB, said he received an email from the White House late on 27 August "purporting to terminate my position at the Surface Transportation Board." The move is "deeply troubling and legally invalid," Primus said in a posting on LinkedIn, and "comes at a time when the Board is considering significant pressing matters of critical importance to both our national freight rail network and supply chain." "Robert Primus did not align with the President's America First agenda, and was terminated from his position by the White House," White House spokesman Kush Desai said. "The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order." The action leaves the STB with three members, two Republicans and one Democrat, and two short of its five-member capacity. Primus did not refer specifically to UP's $85bn bid to purchase Norfolk Southern. If approved by the STB, that deal would create the first transcontinental US carrier, with a new $250bn entity connecting 50,000 miles of track across 43 states. Primus was the sole dissenter when the STB in March 2023 voted 4-1 to approve Canadian Pacific's $31bn merger with Kansas City Southern, creating the largest single US rail operator and the only railroad that links the US, Canada and Mexico. Primus cited concerns about industry consolidation and the impact on rail service. No STB board members have weighed in publicly about the prospects for the UP-Norfolk Southern merger. SMART-TD, a railroad union that represents conductors, condemned Primus's dismissal as unjustified, and said it was likely motivated by White House concerns that Primus would oppose the UP-Norfolk Southern deal. "This action is unprecedented, unlawful in spirit, and reeks of direct interference from hedge funds and the nation's largest rail carriers," the union said. Primus was nominated during Trump's first term to serve on the STB and was renominated by former president Joe Biden. Primus said he would explore his legal options if he was not permitted to continue serving on the STB. "I have worked tirelessly to build bipartisan trust and have demonstrated myself to be truly an independent Board member that has consistently rendered fair and impartial decisions," Primus said. By Chris Baltimore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
CSX prefers alliances over rail mergers
CSX prefers alliances over rail mergers
Houston, 28 August (Argus) — Eastern US railroad CSX is open to more industry partnerships, including with Canadian carriers, after sealing a venture with BNSF Railway to seamlessly transport intermodal traffic between the east and west coasts. Railroads like CSX and BNSF are under pressure from Wall Street to pursue mergers to compete with rival Class I carrier Union Pacific's (UP) plan to purchase Norfolk Southern. The $85bn UP-Norfolk Southern tie-up announced in July would create the first US transcontinental railroad and offer single-network service from coast to coast. CSX chief executive Joseph Hinrichs touted alliances and partnerships as a better way to expand network access, pointing to a two-year approval process that the UP-Norfolk Southern merger proposal will likely face before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). "We don't need to wait two years for a regulatory approval process like the STB is going to go through" with the UP-Norfolk Southern merger application, Hinrichs said in a televised interview with CNBC on Wednesday. "We can do it now and we can do it with Canadian railroads as well." Hinrichs said CSX's partnership with BNSF came together after a meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on 22 August with Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns BNSF. BNSF did not make an outright offer to buy CSX, Hinrichs said. "But they made it clear that they want to work together to solve these problems and create growth opportunities for all of us," Hinrichs said. Fellow Class I railroad Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) took itself out of the running as a potential merger partner this week, echoing the idea that partnerships were the preferred path to grow network access. CPKC chief executive Keith Creel in July had said the railroad was weighing all scenarios, including a potential merger, in response to the UP-Norfolk Southern deal. But after weighing the options, CPKC on 26 August said that any major rail merger would pose "unique and unprecedented risks to customers, rail employees and the broader supply chain." By Chris Baltimore Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
S Korea’s thermal coal imports rise in Jul after 1H low
S Korea’s thermal coal imports rise in Jul after 1H low
London, 20 August (Argus) — South Korean thermal coal imports in July ramped up by 2.7mn t or 50pc from June, recovering from an 18-year low in the first half of 2025, driven by increasing power demand during a hotter summer across Asia . Thermal coal imports also rose by 605,000t or 8pc on the year last month, despite South Korea showing a preference for renewables since President Lee Jae-Myung took office in June. Russia was South Korea's largest supplier in July, shipping nearly 2.7mn t, up by 50pc on the year. Russian coal was favoured by South Korean buyers mainly because of its price competitiveness, sources said. Australian volumes also rose by 71.2pc on the year to 2.2mn t in July, after South Korea's state-owned utilities awarded multiple Australian cargoes in recent months. Indonesia was the next-largest thermal coal supplier to South Korea last month with 2.1mn t, up by 2.1pc on the year. The relatively short freight route from Indonesia to South Korea offers utilities an advantage in managing inventories, sources said. S Korea hits 18-year low in Jan-Jun July imports improved from a low base in the first half of this year, during which receipts fell by 20pc on the year to 33.1mn t, the lowest first-half volumes since 2007, according to customs data. Lower imports were driven by shifts in South Korea's power mix as a wave of new solar capacity, authorised and built under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, came on line at the start of this year, according to sources. South Korean buyers mainly bought thermal coal from Indonesia and Australia in January-June. Volumes from both origins fell by 12.3pc and 27.5pc on the year, respectively, to 10.5mn t and 7.7mn t over this period, customs data show. But thermal coal imports from the US — from which South Korean buyers typically source low-grade supply — improved slightly by 1.2pc on the year in January-June. Meanwhile, South Korea imported 5.8mn t of Russian coal in January-June, down by 19.6pc on the year to its lowest take from the origin since the same period of 2012. Russian coal accounted for 17.7pc of the country's total first-half volumes. Although Russia was South Korea's largest supplier in July, demand for coal from the origin is expected to ease over the coming months, given South Korea's state-owned utilities are understood to be under instruction to cap Russian coal purchases at 10pc and that they have already purchased substantial volumes of Russian coal in the first half of this year. Receipts from Colombia and South Africa in January-June dropped by 10pc and 47.4pc on the year, respectively, to 3mn t and 2mn t. The significant drop in South African coal imports could have been the result of elevated freight costs and other mid-CV alternatives such as Australia and Indonesia, which were competitively-priced earlier this year, market participants said. Thermal coal imports from Canada — which exports mid-grade coal to South Korea — also fell by 13.4pc on the year to 1.7mn t over the same period, customs data show. Increased solar capacity limits coal burn Stronger renewables generation in January-June eroded coal's share of South Korea's power generation mix as increased solar capacity, approved and initiated under the previous administration, came on line at the beginning of this year. South Korean coal-fired output averaged 15.5GW in January-June, falling by 15.2pc on the year, while the country's solar output averaged 4.54GW over the same period, up by 16.4pc on the year, according to state-controlled power operator Kepco. Increased solar generation also shifted South Korea's daytime thermal generation mix in favour of gas-fired generation, given gas-fired plants are more flexible in adjusting output compared with coal, market participants said. Power generation from nuclear, gas and renewables rose by 8.8pc, 2.9pc and 8pc, respectively, in January-June, Kepco data show. By Dayu Park South Korea thermal coal imports mn t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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