* China coal imports down 29.8 pct in first 9 months of 2015
* Indian coal imports are also stalling
* Physical coal prices linger around $50/mt
* API2 coal futures below $50/mt, at levels last seen in 2003
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Coal markets continued to test new lows over the past week, with both physical and futures prices falling further as demand wanes along with Asia's slowing economies.
China, the world's biggest coal user, producer and importer, bought 17.77 million tonnes of coal overseas in September, down 16 percent from a year ago, with weak demand and a domestic supply glut continuing to weigh on shipments.
Imports over the first nine months fell 29.8 percent to 156.36 million tonnes, with foreign suppliers struggling to compete in a massively oversupplied market. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12C2IV
India, another huge coal consumer and importer, has also started to order less shipments as its domestic output has begun improving following years of falling behind target. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N11F4DG urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N10F1X1 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N10L1MT
As a result, cargo prices for Australian coal from its Newcastle terminal GCLNWCPFBMc1 which largely supply China, and shipments from South Africa's Richards Bay, which ships much of its coal to India, have become around a third cheaper since their 2015 peaks, last settling at $53.60 and $49.55 a tonne respectively, and both are now below their 2008-2009 global financial crisis lows.
"The situation in Asia for coal sellers is pretty bad. It's been bad for a while, but I still can't see any sign of a fundamental improvement until something on the supply side really budges in the form of a major reduction or closure," one coal trader said.
European physical coal cargo prices for delivery into its main terminals at Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp (ARA) are also down sharply this year, shedding over 20 percent from their 2015 peaks to a last settlement of $51.70 a tonne.
In an indicator that coal traders see little price upside ahead, API2 2016 coal futures TRAPI2Yc1 closed below $50 a tonne for the first time since 2003, last settling at $48.50 per tonne. (Editing by Joseph Radford)