China exported 440,000 mt of coal in October, down 17% month on month and down 44.3% year on year, according to preliminary data released Monday by China Customs.
The country exported 7.89 million mt of coal over the first ten months of 2012, down 38.9% year on year, the data showed.
China exported 50,000 mt of coke in October, down 54.5% month on month and down 50% year on year, and 910,000 mt over the first ten months of 2012, down 70.7% year on year.
China Customs has yet to release import figures for October on its website. However, Xinhua News Agency, citing China Customs as its source, reported Monday the country had imported 220 million mt of coal over January-October, up 33.5% year on year. There was no breakdown of thermal and coking coal.
Deducting the January-September figure from the January-October total would put China's October coal imports at around 17 million mt, down from 18.63 million mt in September, according to Platts calculations