India has been a major thermal coal importer and the year 2022 had been quite a volatile one in terms of imported prices. While the prices saw all-time high levels in March due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the same fell significantly towards the end of the year. Let us trace the imported thermal coal trade movement in India and the price trend over January-October, 2022.
Indonesian imports jump 27% in 2022
According to trade data maintained with CoalMint, a total of 94 million tonne (mnt) of Indonesian thermal coal made its way to India during January-October, 2022, up 20% against the same period last year.
While the popular grades imported in 2022 were between 3800-5000 GAR, the top grade imported was 4200 GAR. The monthly average price of 4200 GAR in January 2022 stood at $86/t CIF India which touched its high at $128/t in April 2022 but fell back to $97/t in October.
The second most popular grade that made its way to India was the 5000 GAR whose prices stood at $107/t CIF India in March, rose to their highest in June to $182/t but fell back to $107/t again in September. The demand for this grade rose in April-June and so did its prices as Indian power plants had been importing Indonesian coal in huge quantities during the said period amid the Indian government’s directive to compulsorily blend 10% of imported coal in peak summer.
Imports of South African 4800 NAR rise
India has been a top importer of South African coal since the past few years. The 5500 NAR was the most preferred grade for Indian sponge iron players. However, this year saw a change in the buying trend with a 28% y-o-y increase in imports of 4800 NAR while 5500 NAR imports dropped 13% y-o-y to 0.72 mnt.
The average price for 4800 NAR in January 2022 stood at $106/t CIF India which peaked to $243/t in June before falling back to $159/t in October. In case of 5500 NAR, it touched a peak of $271/t for vessels that arrived in June but settled at $239/t in September while no vessel for the same grade arrived in October.
Australian imports see 55% plunge in 2022
The sanctions on Russian coal by Europe and its subsequent demand for Australian material led to a price surge in the latter’s thermal coal. This deterred Indian buyers from booking costlier Australian coal, resulting in its imports falling by 55% y-o-y during January-October to 9.5 mnt.
The top grade imported was 4600 NAR, but only during the months of March, July and August and its prices for these three months averaged $187/t CIF India whereas another popular grade, 5500 NAR, arrived in March, April and October at an average price of $191/t CIF India. Adani’s 4600 NAR from Charmiachel mine arrived in September and October at an average price of $147/t CIF India.
Russian coal imports up three-fold
India’s imports of Russian thermal coal stood at 6.7 mnt in January-October, 2022 against 2.2 mnt in the same time last year. This happened as Russia exported more of thermal coal to India and China amid sanctions. Its price for the popular 6000 NAR averaged 195/t CIF India (for July, August, and September) whereas the 6200 NAR, that arrived from June-October, averaged $198/t CIF India.
US coal imports drop, Mozambique sees a rise
Thermal coal imports from the US saw a fall of 54% in 2022 to 5.5 mnt. The top grades imported were 6900-6990 NAR. In case of Mozambique, the imports rose by 53% y-o-y during January-October 2022. The top grade imported was 4900 NAR with its price averaging $159/t CIF India in October. This was followed by 5500 NAR, whose price averaged $193/t CIF India between February-August, 2022 as post-this period, the grade did not make its way to India.
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