Indian domestic prices for blast furnace grade metallurgical coke continue rising amid aggravated concerns on limited availability especially with the conclusion of some export deals.
Notably, Chinese buyers have become importers of met coke, competing with India for supplies from Poland, Japan, and Colombia.
In fact, Chinese buyers have booked met coke cargoes from Indian suppliers with late-January and February laycan. CoalMint has heard of at least three export shipments of met coke booked from Indian producers along the eastern coast.
India’s domestically produced met coke prices for the 25-90 mm, blast furnace grade are currently hovering at around INR 25,500/t (east coast) and INR 26,000/t (west coast).
Meanwhile, a persistent supply tightness of both seaborne and domestic met coke – along with higher restocking demand from steelmakers – have boosted domestic coke prices. So, many end-users are reluctant to purchase imported coke due to higher than expected prices.
CoalMint currently assesses the spot blast furnace met coke price for the 64% CSR grade at $364/t CNF India, up $7/t w-o-w.
The 62% CSR grade BF metcoke is currently assessed at $355/t CNF India — also up by $7/t w-o-w.
Met coke import prices are rising steadily across major originating countries in the Asia-Pacific region, owing to increased import demand from China. Overall buying interests among Indian market participants are relatively “higher with an upside” according to most traders.
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