S.Korea coal imports in April down 22 pct y/y

SEOUL May 20 (Reuters) - South Korea's imports of heating coal in April fell 22 percent from a year earlier on bearish demand from domestic utilities, industry data showed on Wednesday.

South Korea imported 6.70 million tonnes of coal in April, down from 8.63 million tonnes a year earlier, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said.

In line with the fall in coal, which accounts for about 40 percent of South Korea's power generation, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports fell 19 percent in April compared with the same month last year [ID:nSEO323405]. LNG accounts for about 15 percent of power generation in South Korea.

The lukewarm demand from South Korea, the second-largest buyer of Asian benchmark Australian coal, pressured the regional coal market. which is already facing weak appetites from China and India. Demand for Indonesian coal from key buyers Japan, Taiwan and South Korea was also seen easing, industry sources said.

South Korea paid an average of $101.80 per tonne of coal in April, down from $104.79 per tonne a year earlier, and significantly lower than around $200 per tonne in July last year.

Coal imports from Australia totalled 3.28 million tonnes the largest proportion, while Indonesia followed a distant second with 2.04 million tonnes. (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Chris Lewis)