As the European Union (EU) prepares to impose a full ban on Russian coal in August, the block imported 48% less thermal coal from Moscow in June compared to May, according to the figures provided by CRU consultancy to the Financial Times.

Russian coal exports to the EU were increasing continuously during spring as the bloc was after filling every available storage, before plunging to 1.7 million tonnes last month, as per the commodity consultancy.    

Europe has become more and more dependent on Russian coal for energy after its ban on sea-carried oil imports from Moscow and cuts in natural gas pumped through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The bloc is now seeking to replace the Russian oil from South Africa and Australia.

Read: No alternative to Russian oil: OPEC

UBS analyst Myles Allsop, quoted by the British daily, suggested that the EU would have trouble replacing both gas and coal supplies from Russia. Thermal coal was trading at $130 last year and went up currently to $400 a tonne.

In the meantime, Russia has been exploring new markets beyond Europe. It sold more coal to India and China than it did before the pandemic. In June, China accounted for almost a quarter of the 13.7 million tonnes of coal that Russia exported by sea.