The US shipped 15.3mn metric tonnes of coal to China in 2021, up nearly five-fold from 3.1mn ts in 2020, according to shipbroker Banchero Costa.

Australian coal shipments to China fell by 76.2mn t or 32pc last year, following Beijing’s unofficial ban on coal imports that started in late 2020. And increased demand for thermal fuel in China helped prompt Beijing to lift curbs on coal imports in mid-2021.

In need of coal and looking for alternatives to Australian supply, China increasingly turned to US producers. US supply made up 6.2pc of all coal imports into China last year, according to Banchero.

Global coal exports in 2021 increased by 4.5pc from the locked-down trading of 2020. This year over year increase still represents a 9.8pc drop from total exports before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, Banchero data show.

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