The Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) has revised its estimate for Australia's metallurgical coal exports for 2013 to 158 million mt, around the level of exports prior to the 2011 Queensland floods, up nine percent over 2012. BREE had forecast an 11 percent year-on-year rise for Australian met coal exports in 2013 in its previous "Recources and Energy" report.
The metallurgical coal exports of Australia, the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal, in the period 2014-2018 are projected to increase at an average annual rate of seven percent to reach 218 million mt in 2018.
However, BREE reports that contract prices for high quality metallurgical coal for delivery in the first quarter of 2013 were settled at around US$165/mt, decreasing slightly from US$170/mt in the fourth quarter of 2012. Contract prices are forecast to increase over the remainder of 2013 and to average
At US$172/mt for 2013 as a whole.
According to BREE, between 2013 and 2018 China's metallurgical coal imports are forecast to increase by 12 percent a year to reach 105 million mt by 2018. India's imports of metallurgical coal are projected to increase at an annual average rate of 12 percent over the period in question to reach 32 million mt in 2018. Imports into Brazil are projected to increase at an average annual rate of five percent between 2013 and 2018 and to total 17 million mt in 2018. The strong growth in imports into Brazil and India reflect projected strong growth in steel production. On the other hand, imports into the EU are projected to increase slightly over the given period, growing at an average of three percent a year to reach 51 million mt in 2018.