Who would have ever thought that Coal, a much hated and maligned commodity would continue to be a strongly traded commodity in 2022? Indonesia, a leading exporter of thermal coal
banned the shipments of coal on New Years Day 2022, causing a surge in coal prices. This follows on a record $158 per tonne in October, though it slipped $68 on Dec. 29 according to
Refinitiv and
Kpler.
A report published in December 2021 by China's State Grid Corporation outlined China's plans to build as much as 150 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity over the 2021-2025 period, bringing the total to 1,230 GW as
the first 1,000-megawatt unit of the Coal powered Shanghaimiao plant, the biggest of its kind was completed. The plant will eventually have four generating units adding to more than half of global coal-fired power generation, a 9% year-on-year increase in 2021, according to a report from International Energy Agency published in December 2021, even as
US coal powered plans continue to close.
China (US$16.4 billion - 17.3%), Japan - ($15.95 billion - 16.8%) and India ($15.87 billion - 16.7%) were the biggest importers of coal in 2020 compared to China ($19.6 billion - 12.9%), India - $24.6 billion (16.2%) and Japan (US$25.4 billion - 16.7% of total coal imports) in 2019 as reported by
Caixin. These three Asian giants will continue to be major Coal commodities players for at least the next decade.
