Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 China is taking the opportunity to reduce global prices for natural gas and coal and rebuild its electricity storage system before the beginning of summer.
00:10 Let's look at the details.
00:12 Global prices for natural gas and coal have dropped.
00:15 As we can see here, the average price of natural gas in Japan and Korea has reached about $9 for each million of British pounds in the first quarter of this year, compared to $18 in the same period last year.
00:30 We can see that the price has declined by about half. As for the average price of coal in Newcastle, Australia, it has reached about $127 in the first quarter of this year, compared to $236 in the first quarter of 2023.
00:49 But how did China take advantage of this?
00:52 Gas imports in the country have jumped by about 21% by the end of April, and coal by 13% compared to last year.
01:02 This reminds us of the increases that the forecast for the decrease in the global price of coal has reached last year, and comes after the first record low in the local market in the third quarter of 2020.
01:19 As we can see in the figures, the production of coal in the country has decreased for the first time in four years.
01:26 This is a topic that we always talk about.
01:28 Demand for natural gas and coal in the country continues, despite the efforts of the state to reach zero emissions by 2050.
01:36 But there is a great demand for electricity because of electric cars.
01:41 There are always problems with supply and demand.
01:44 There is always a greater demand than supply.
01:47 For example, China is the largest country that imports natural gas and coal in the world.
01:53 The exports of natural gas and coal to China have reached about 12%, to reach about 71 million tons in 2023.
02:03 But what about the expectations of the experts?
02:06 China's gas imports jump by about 20%, to reach 84 million tons by 2025, and 136 million tons by 2030.
02:18 Finally, the increase in electricity consumption in China has increased by 8% in the first half of 2024.
02:26 In general, the decrease in prices has helped China to increase its imports of natural gas and coal, despite the efforts of the state in solar energy and wind energy.
02:37 But there is always a need for fossil fuels.