Coal Prices Under Pressure: China Becomes Saviour, Turkey Resists
Coal prices slipped despite a flurry of positive news from China. According to Refinitiv, coal prices closed at US$ 130.65 per tonne on Tuesday (14/7/2026), down 0.27%. The decline came after a 1.74% surge on Monday.
China’s coal imports rose sharply in June 2026 to 42.78 million tonnes, an increase of 28.6% compared to May. Imports also soared 29.5% year-on-year, far exceeding market expectations. For the first half of 2026, imports reached 225.4 million tonnes, up 1.7% annually and the second-highest level for the January-June period after the record set in 2024.
The import surge was driven by power plants accelerating purchases ahead of peak summer electricity consumption and a mine accident in Shanxi in late May that tightened domestic supply. Tight domestic coking coal supply also prompted importers to turn to Australia, Canada, and Mongolia. Congestion at southern Chinese ports, caused by a rush of coal vessels arriving simultaneously, has given power plants room to buy at cheaper prices. Mongolia remains a key supplier, with exports to China continuing to rise to offset domestic production disruptions. Looking ahead, July imports are expected to potentially exceed expectations again, even before the peak electricity demand season fully arrives, due to port congestion and a backlog of coal cargoes awaiting unloading and sale.
In Turkey, a court has cancelled the expansion of the Afşin-Elbistan A coal-fired power plant following a legal challenge by local residents and Greenpeace Türkiye. The court revoked the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permit granted in late 2024, ruling that the project’s negative environmental impact could not be proven to be at an acceptable level. The 688 MW expansion project was one of only two active coal plant projects remaining in Turkey, a country that once had 95 proposed coal projects totalling 57.5 GW in 2015. With this cancellation, 97% of all coal projects ever proposed in Turkey have been scrapped, the highest rate globally. However, Turkey still lacks a national coal phase-out plan and recently announced plans to expand the Cenal power plant by 1,050 MW, even as it prepares to co-host the COP31 climate summit. Coal still accounts for nearly a third of Turkey’s electricity generation, with an operating fleet of 20.5 GW and an average plant age of 24 years, most of which have no retirement schedule.