All up the company produced 131.5 million tonnes of coal in 2015, which was down by 10% on the previous year, reflecting CEO Ivan Glasenberg’s strategy of reducing supply during low commodity prices.

The majority of coal - 52.4Mt - came from the Australian export thermal coal sector. Australian coking production of 5.9Mt was in line with 2014.

The decline in Chinese import demand was the key feature of the seaborne thermal coal market in 2015, according to the company.

“Lower economic growth, some shift away from manufacturing, rising hydro and nuclear power supply and increased domestic coal supply for coastal ultra-high voltage transmission were all important factors that led to such decline,” it said.

“Lower gas prices and increased renewable generation contributed to a reduction in European coal demand, however this was more than offset by demand growth in the Mediterranean, Africa, the sub-continent and South East Asia, where the need for low cost, stable power supply continues to grow.”

On the supply side, low energy coals, principally from Indonesia, were most impacted by the declining Chinese demand, leading to a significant reduction in Indonesian coal exports during 2015. US coal exports also declined as falling prices forced mine closures.

“Supply from Australia, Colombia and South Africa remained relatively stable, having benefited from weaker domestic currencies and reduced quality based pricing differentials, which is supportive of demand for these generally higher quality coals,” Glencore said.

“Changes to demand based on quality are supportive of trading and arbitrage opportunities, which are expected to continue as the current low market prices contribute to further supply reductions during 2016.”