According to the Chinese customs authorities, in January this year China imported 16.56 million mt of coal, down 4.5 percent compared with December 2010 but up 4.8 percent year on year.
As of February 23, the Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index (BSPI), China's primary coal price index, stood at RMB 769/mt (approx. $117/mt), rising by five percent as compared with October 2010. On February 25, the coal price at the Australian port of Newcastle, the world's largest coal export port, averaged at $127/mt, up 30 percent compared to October 2010. The increases are mainly due to the weakness of the US dollar, the Australian floods and the improvement in the global economy.