EURACOAL Market Report 2026 no.2 – global and EU data for H1 2026
While global coal production, including lignite, likely slipped back in the first six months, global coal consumption is set to increase by 1.2% to reach a record 8.94 bn t for the full year. China’s production fell by 1.6% to 2.37 bn t in H1 2026 following a mine accident in May. India’s production also decreased, by 2.4% year-on-year, to 555 Mt. Coal production in Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, and the US increased, with Mongolia’s production growing by around 50%. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s coking coal imports rose by 32% year-on-year and have tripled since 2022. The country is now a major exporter of coke – it will likely overtake China to become the world’s largest coke exporter this year. Special features in the report cover coal industry development under China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and the rollback of power plant carbon emission standards in the US.
In the EU, total coal supply including imports fell by 3.4% to 144 Mt in the first half year, continuing a downward trend. Lignite output was down 5.2% to 89.5 Mt compared with H1 2025, while hard coal production fell by 0.9% to 21.2 Mt and imports by 1.1% to 33.1 Mt. Steam coal prices at European ports averaged 112 US$/t over the first half year, some 10% higher than H1 2025, being highest in early June at 136 US$/t. The crisis in the Middle East saw coal favoured over gas for power generation, putting an upward pressure on coal prices everywhere.
The latest EURACOAL coal market report, covering the first half year, is available at this link.
Further information and additional reports are available on the EURACOAL website.
