LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Asia's imports of seaborne thermal coal ticked up in July, but the increase was driven by the developed economies of North Asia and not heavyweights China and India.

Total seaborne imports of the fuel used mainly to generate electricity rose to 70.66 million metric tons in July, up 12% from June's 63.02 million tons, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.

The rise in July imports comes amid a weaker trend for Asia's seaborne thermal coal shipments, as top buyers China and India trimmed purchases amid plentiful domestic supplies and rising generation from renewables.

July's arrivals were down 7.8% from the same month in 2024 and Asia's imports for the first seven months of the year were 8.4% lower at 479.54 million tons, according to Kpler data.

The recovery in volumes in July from June was driven by higher imports in the developed economies of North Asia, namely Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Japan, the world's third-biggest coal importer, saw arrivals of 10.0 million tons of thermal coal in July, up from 6.16 million in June.

However, it's worth noting that June was the lowest month for seaborne thermal coal imports for Japan in Kpler data going back to January 2017.

South Korea, the fourth-biggest coal buyer, saw imports of 7.49 million tons in July, up from 5.49 million in June and the highest monthly total since August last year.

Taiwan's imports were 3.91 million tons in July, up from 3.72 million in June and the most since November last year.

The stronger imports in North Asia reflect higher demand for electricity during the northern summer, but also likely show the cost competitiveness of thermal coal compared to liquefied natural gas.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan predominantly buy higher-grade thermal coal benchmarked against the Newcastle Index in Australia.

This weekly assessment by price reporting agency Argus has been rising in recent weeks, ending at $112.06 a ton in the seven days to August 1.

It has rallied 22.4% since hitting a four-year low of $91.58 a ton on April 25, reflecting the stronger demand from North Asia.

PRICIER LNG

While higher-grade thermal coal prices have risen, they are still competitive against spot LNG , with cargoes for delivery to North Asia being assessed at $12.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the week to August 1.

The LNG price is down from its recent four-month high of $14 per mmBtu, but even at its current level it is still above $11.20, which is the upper end of the range at which a Japanese utility would find it more economical to burn coal, according to LSEG data.

In contrast to the robust gain in prices for higher-grade Australian thermal coal, the lower-energy fuel preferred by China and India has seen much more modest increases.

Coal with an energy content of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg) ended last week $67.49 a ton, up slightly from the recent four-year low of $66.00 in the week to July 11.

Indonesian coal with an energy content of 4,200 kcal/kg ended at $41.20 a ton in the week to August 1, also up slightly from its four-year low of $40.45 in the seven days to July 4.

The relative weakness in the lower-quality coal from the world's two biggest exporters reflects soft demand from the top importers, China and India.

China's imports of seaborne thermal coal rose to 22.78 million tons in July, up from 18.21 million in June, according to Kpler.

But it's worth noting that June's imports were a three-year low and July's arrivals were also down from the 26.99 million tons from the same month in 2024.

China's seaborne thermal coal imports have dropped 17.1% in the first seven months of 2025 from the same period last year, according to Kpler data.

Rising domestic coal output, which was up 5% in the first half of 2025, and a greater share of electricity generation from renewables have trimmed China's demand for imported coal.

Renewables are also behind some of the weakness in India's coal imports, with analysis of official data showing coal-fired generation dropped nearly 3% in the first half of 2025, while renewables surged 24.4%.

India's seaborne imports of thermal coal dropped to 11.51 million tons in July, down from 13.93 million in June, making it the weakest month since November last year, according to Kpler.

Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.