China's Coking Coal Shortage to Spur Demand Fight

China, the world’s largest steelmaker, faces a shortage of coking coal that may drive imports next year and spur a fight for resources with Japanese and South Korean mills, two Chinese industry groups said.

“Domestic demand for coking coal will rise moderately next year, while global demand may gain faster, intensifying competition,” Wu Chenghou, senior adviser of the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, said in an interview.
China’s coking coal imports rose 12-fold this year, boosting sales of BHP Billiton Ltd. as the government closed smaller, unsafe mines. Prices may jump by between 23 percent and 38 percent in 2010, as global demand rebounds from the deepest recession since the 1930s, according to Macquarie Securities Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

“China doesn’t have enough domestic supply to meet increasing demand from its steelmakers,” said Zhang Bochun, secretary general of the Hebei Coking & Chemical Industry Association. Mills would “compete with foreign rivals,” he said in an interview.

Bloomberg