China's thermal coal imports fell in August 2026 from a year earlier, while the average import price rose sharply.

The country imported 29.02 million tonnes of thermal coal (non-coking coal) in August 2026, down 10.91% year on year but up 0.31% from the previous month, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs.

The import value of thermal coal stood at $2.44 billion in August, up 26.62% year on year and down 2.97% month on month. Based on this, the average import price of thermal coal was $84.24/t, up 42.13% from a year earlier and down 2.67% from a month ago.

In January-August 2026, China imported a total of 217 million tonnes of thermal coal, down 4.76% year on year. The import value was $16 billion, up 7.17% from the same period last year.

The average import price of thermal coal in the first eight months of 2026 was $73.85/t, up 12.53% year on year.