Coal shipments to South Korea from Port Waratah Coal Services' terminals at the Australian port of Newcastle slumped 55% from January to 993,000 mt in February, the company said Thursday.
The drop comes after Port Waratah's terminals loaded 2.2 million mt bound for South Korea in January, the highest since Platts started tracking PWCS export data in January 2010.
Thermal coal accounted for 8.45 million mt or 86% of PWCS's shipments in February, with coking coal at 1.37 million mt or 14%, according to the data.
The drop in South Korean shipments might indicate lower tender activity by the country's power utilities at the beginning of the year, possibly because generators have sufficient stocks, market sources said.
South Korean utilities prefer Australian thermal coal with a calorific value of 5,700-6,000 kcal/kg on a net-as-received basis and an ash content of 17-20%, traders said.
Prices for this coal have slumped to as low as $73/mt FOB Newcastle basis 6,080 kcal/kg NAR, according to market sources.
China took up some of the slack in the Newcastle coal market left by retreating South Korean buyers last month.
PWCS coal shippers including Glencore-Xstrata and Rio Tinto Coal Australia exported 2.5 million mt of coal to customers in China in February, a six-month high and up 35% from the 1.85 million mt shipped in January.
The higher volumes boosted China's share of the PWCS shipments to 25.6% in February, from 20% in January, despite a trading lull during the Lunar New Year holiday in early February.
Chinese customers including power stations in coastal regions are prolific buyers of Newcastle thermal coal with maximum ash content of 23% on an as-received basis. Prices for such coal have fallen to $63/mt FOB Newcastle this week, down from $71/mt in early January, according to Platts data.
Taiwan increased its offtake from the PWCS terminals last month to 930,000 mt, up 96% from 475,000 mt in January, according to PWCS data.
Shipments from Port Waratah's terminals to Japan were relatively steady at 4.4 million mt in February, compared with 4.2 million mt in January. Japan's share of the market was about 45% in both months.
Mexico-bound ships loaded 414,000 mt of coal exports at the PWCS terminals in February, the country's highest offtake since September 2012, according to a Platts analysis.
Major coal exporter Indonesia took delivery of 155,000 mt of Newcastle coal from the Port Waratah terminals in February, the equivalent of two Panamax cargoes.
India was missing from Port Waratah's shipping data as a destination for Newcastle coal exports in February, after taking 125,000 mt in January.
This was despite strong Indian buying interest heard in the spot market last month for mid-calorific value Australian thermal coal, arising from end-users in the country becoming frustrated at being unable to secure enough South African cargoes because of delays at Richards Bay coal terminal related to an electrical outage.
The 66 million mt/year Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group terminal at Newcastle port owned by five coal producers including BHP Billiton and Peabody Energy does not regularly publish export data.