Coal prices have declined by nearly 10 per cent from the year's high as surging hydroelectricity supplies in China curb the country's appetite for overseas coal.
China has become a key factor in global coal prices as the country swings from exporter to importer amid surging demand for power and on the back of a clampdown on illegal and unsafe mining in Shanxi province, the key producing area.
In the first half of the year, China imported nearly 50m tonnes of thermal coal to fire power stations, up almost 130 per cent from 21.8m tonnes in the same period of last year, offsetting lacklustre demand in Japan and Europe and boosting global coal prices.