According to data released by the Korea Customs Service (KCS), South Korea's coal imports in December 2025 amounted to 9.5133 million tons, a decrease of 1.32% month-on-month and 10.32% year-on-year. From January to December 2025, South Korea's cumulative coal imports totaled 110.499 million tons, down 4.4% year-on-year.
PriceSeek Analysis on Coking Coal:
Bull-Bear Score: -1.5
South Korea's coal imports in December 2025 fell by 1.32% month-on-month and 10.32% year-on-year, with a cumulative decline of 4.4% for the year, indicating sustained weakness in coking coal demand. This is expected to exert significant downward pressure on spot prices, as reduced imports reflect weakening demand in the global steel industry, potentially leading to oversupply.
Combined with coking coal futures data, the main contract, such as 2605, closed at 1,187.5 yuan/ton, down 11 yuan, with high trading volume (1,022,581 lots) and large open interest (505,837 lots), indicating strong bearish sentiment in the market. Futures prices may face further downward pressure.
A score of -1.5 reflects a relatively strong bearish outlook, as although the decline in imports is not extreme, the persistent downward trend reinforces expectations of further price declines.
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