Insight
Global thermal coal: 2023 in review
*Please note that this report only includes an Excel data file if this is indicated in "What's included" below
Report summary
From the surge in Chinese demand to the dramatic price declines driven by a hangover of high energy coal stocks from 2022 - and a mild winter, 2023 threw curveballs we never saw coming. The extraordinary profits generated in 2022 became apparent as producers reported their results over the course of the year - but so did the cost increases. The incredible margins for producers in 2022 shrunk with some high-cost were producers under pressure despite relatively high prices from a historical context. Significantly our expectation for "peak coal" in the seaborne market has been pushed out - again. We look at some of the unexpected shifts, the drivers, and try to make some sense of the implications.
Table of contents
- China’s imports were much higher than we predicted
- Another surprise was the resilience of seaborne trade to interference – whether that be unilateral or multilateral
- Costs were significantly higher than we realised
- Peak coal pushed out again
- Indonesian domestic demand exploded
- Prices "corrected" much faster than we anticipated
Tables and charts
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What's included
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