Ganqimaodu border crossing, China's largest inland road port for coal imports from Mongolia, imported a total 13.05 million tonnes of coal in the year to May 6, said the border port authorities.
Over April 1-15, Mongolian miners successfully sold 1.92 million tonnes of coal via 7 e-auctions, and 25 auctions were concluded over April 16-30, leading to 2.22 million tonnes of coal being sold.
The import market of Mongolian coking coal recovered at Ganqimaodu border crossing in mid-to-late April. The materialization of four consecutive coke price hikes bolstered trading activity at the border port, encouraging miners to raise prices amid decent demand.
Bullish sentiment continued to strengthen in the steel industry. Several steel producers increased production due to better profit margins, driven by increased demand for steel products. Current prices for Mongolian 5# raw coal were in the range of 1,380-1,410 yuan/t, while that for Mongolian 3# washed coal and 1/3 coking coal were around 1,510-1,540 yuan/t and 1,040-1,060 yuan/t, respectively.
Mongolia has tried to adjust coal prices in accordance with global coal prices, and this caused market volatility due to unstable prices and squeezed profit margins of Chinese companies. The delivery duration was also extended from the original 30-45 days to 120 days, according to the border port authorities.
The port handled 13.45 million tonnes of cargo (including imports and exports) during this period. Imports of copper concentrate were at 311,900 tonnes, while the border crossing exported 88,900 tonnes of goods.
(Writing by yan.sun Editing by Harry Huo)
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