Thread by @SStapczynski

China, the world’s top coal consumer, is in dire need of more supply and is willing to pay any price 🇨🇳🪨

China has even been boosting coal imports from some of South Asia and Europe’s mainstay suppliers, leaving less fuel for energy-starved rivals

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

China has traditionally purchased nearly all of its coal supplies from producers within Asia, but that changed last year when it stopped buying from Australia amid a political dispute between the once-close trading partners, leading to sporadic shortages

smh.com.au/business/marke…

While China mines half of the world’s coal, its supply hasn’t been able to keep up with its breakneck demand

Thermal power generation in the year through August is 14% higher than last year, while coal production is up only 4.4%. So they need more imports to fill the gap

And things could get a lot worse for China if its a cold winter

The chance of a La Nina (a weather pattern that usually brings below normal temperatures to North Hemisphere) is looking more likely, which would stretch already tight energy supplies

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is considering raising power prices to encourage more electricity generation to avoid blackouts

While it will ease a power supply crunch, it could result in a jump in coal consumption, exacerbating a shortage of the fuel

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…