US thermal coal exports climbed from year-earlier levels for a sixth straight month in August, showing continued gains in interest from buyers in some parts of Asia and Europe earlier in the year.

An estimated 3.78mn short tons (3.43mn metric tonnes) of steam coal departed US ports in August, preliminary figures from US Commerce Department data released today show. That was less than the 3.96mn st exported in July but above the 3.4mn st shipped in August 2025.

Most of the countries destined to get more US thermal coal were in Asia and Europe. Coal-fired generation in some parts of Asia rose this past summer at the same time that concerns about tighter supply from Indonesia drove buyers in South Korea and Japan to expand their interest in coal from other countries including the US. Buyers in Europe, meanwhile, have looked to coal to offset jumps in natural gas costs and uncertainty over LNG transits through the strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war.

Exports of both US bituminous and sub-bituminous coal to South Korea and Japan rose in August, bringing total shipments to those countries up to 377,095st and 399,894st, respectively, from 90,212st and 165,158st a year earlier.

The US also shipped a total of 1,888st of sub-bituminous coal to the Netherlands and Mexico in August, compared with zero a year earlier. All of the rest of US exports were either bituminous coal or lignite.

Overall US thermal coal exports to the Netherlands climbed to 351,652st in August from 82,516st a year earlier. Shipments to Germany and Romania also increased. In addition, Commerce Department data show small amounts of US steam coal going to Croatia and the UK in August, compared with zero in the same month of 2025.

Thermal coal exports to India – the largest destination for US steam coal – slipped by 6.5pc from a year earlier to 957,691 st in August after having a 30pc year-on-year jump in July. But 2026 shipments to the country still were on track to be a record high. For the year through August, the US exported 10.4mn st of thermal coal to India, the most for any January-August period in Commerce Department data going back to 2001.

US thermal coal exports to Indonesia also were on track for record highs, having jumped to 526,097st in the first eight months of 2026 and to 66,306st in August alone, from 146,974st and zero, respectively, a year earlier.

Shipments to South Korea and Japan for the year through August were the most since 2023 and 2024, respectively. Exports to Europe for that time frame were at a three-year high, preliminary Commerce Department data show.

The gains in exports to Asia and Europe outweighed decreased shipments to some countries in Africa and the Americas both on a year-to-date basis and in August alone.

Overall US thermal coal exports over January-August were at a two-year high of 31.1mn st compared with 29.3mn st in the first eight months of 2025.

US metallurgical coal exports for both January-August and August alone also were above year-earlier levels. As a result, total US coal exports for the first eight months of this year climbed to 66.9mn st and 8.39mn st, respectively, from 61.5mn st and 8.01mn st in the same periods of 2025.

View article here.