China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) allowed three central government-backed utilities and its top steelmaker to resume coal imports from Australia after partially ending the unofficial ban on coal trade with Australia in 2020, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Key quotes

“The NDRC summoned China Datang Corp, China Huaneng Group, China Energy Investment Corporation and China Baowu Steel Group on Tuesday to discuss the resumption of coal imports from Australia.”

“The firms will be granted permission to purchase Australian coal only for their own use.”

"Some (Chinese) traders have started to ask for prices of the February cargoes after the NDRC meeting.”

“The current Australian coal prices are still attractive to Chinese buyers.”

Market reaction

The Australian Dollar failed to find any fresh impetus from the above headlines, as the AUD/USD pair keeps its range at around 0.6830, trading modestly flat on the day.