US thermal coal exports rose for a second consecutive month in April after seaborne demand and prices jumped in the early stages of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Shipments of US steam coal and anthracite climbed to 4.29mn short tons (3.89mn metric tonnes) in the month from a revised 4.1mn st a year earlier, according to Commerce Department data released on Tuesday.

The department also revised data for all of 2025 on Tuesday, raising thermal coal shipments for last year to roughly 42.9mn st from the previous estimate of 42.5mn st. But the department lowered the figure for March 2025 to 4.29mn st from 4.37mn st, which means that March 2026 estimated exports are now 0.01pc higher than a year earlier rather than the 1.9pc lower estimated last month.

Interest in exporting US steam coal rose in March and early April as some buyers who were concerned about potential disruptions to natural gas supply as a result of the war in the Middle East looked to secure coal supply and seaborne prices climbed to levels that made exporting more profitable for US producers. Prices have since fluctuated and so has trading activity. But some of the transactions producers entered into in March were for shipments to be made later this year.

In April, US thermal coal exports to a number of countries in Asia and Europe rose, offsetting decreases in shipments to key trading partners in north Africa and the Americas.

US thermal coal exports to Asia climbed to an estimated 3.09mn st in April — the most since October 2023 — from a revised 2.52mn st a year earlier. Shipments to India reached a 30-month high of 2.24mn st that at least partly reflected coal having a cost advantage over petroleum coke for cement makers earlier in 2026.

Steam coal exports to Japan, Singapore, Thailand and China also rose. However, shipments to South Korea — another key destination for US thermal coal — declined after rising the previous month.

Over the same time frame, US steam coal exports to the Netherlands and Germany jumped to 284,983st and 65,885st, respectively, in April from zero each in April 2025.

On the other hand, the US shipped about 45pc less thermal coal to Egypt and Morocco in April than in the same month of 2025, bringing exports to Africa down to 670,922st from 1.16mn st a year earlier.

The US also shipped half as much thermal coal to Canada in April as it had in the same month of 2025. This more than offset an increase in steam coal exports to Mexico.

US thermal coal exports to most Central and South American trading partners decreased in April from year-earlier levels.

Overall US steam coal shipments to other countries in the Americas fell to an estimated 163,065st in April from 424,061 st a year earlier.

But US metallurgical coal exports climbed to 4.27mn st in April from 3.7mn st in the same month of 2025, the Commerce Department estimated. And total US coal exports, comprising both thermal and metallurgical coals, increased to 8.55mn st in April from 7.80mn st a year prior.

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