South African Coal Exports To India Fall 21% in First Half, mjunction Says.

India’s imports of coal from South Africa fell 21 percent in the first half of 2011 from a year earlier while Chinese purchases rose 18 percent, according to India Coal Market Watch, published by Kolkata-based online trading company mjunction Services Ltd.

Purchases by India shrank to 7.55 million metric tons through June, with imports last month almost unchanged from a year earlier at 1.2 million tons, according to the report e- mailed to mjunction clients and obtained by Bloomberg. China’s imports increased to 3.14 million tons in January to June.

South Africa supplied 27.42 million tons of the fuel globally in the first six months of the year, according to the note. Exports in June were 19 percent higher compared with a year earlier at 4.78 million tons.

Coal prices at South Africa’s Richards Bay, which the operator says is the world’s single largest coal-export terminal, fell 0.5 percent to $117.06 a ton in the week ended July 1, data from Petersfield, U.K.-based researcher IHS McCloskey showed. China and India accounted for about 39 percent of exports of the fuel from South Africa in the first half, according to mjunction.

Asia imported 17.7 million tons of coal from South Africa in the first half, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the note. Shipments in June totaled 2.6 million tons. Supplies to Atlantic-area nations were 9.55 million tons through June, 6 percent higher than a year earlier. Shipments last month were up 90 percent at 2.15 million tons.

Source : bloomberg.com