India: BigMint’s coking coal index edges down on bid-offer disparity

• India’s coking coal imports drop 25% m-o-m in Feb’25
• Australian coking coal prices drop w-o-w

BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $198/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 13 March 2025 against $200/t CNF on 28 February.

“There are more cargoes available in the market, which buyers are leveraging to their advantage. The PHCC index stands at $179/t FOB, with Australia-India freight costs ranging between $13-14, bringing the price to approximately $194 CFR India for full vessel purchases. For trader-to-buyer transactions, the price varies between $197-200/t, depending on the quantity,” highlighted a trader.

Rationale:

BigMint’s coking coal index is derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, and bids. No deal was recorded during the publishing window.

Eight (8) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. Out of these, seven (7) were considered for price calculation and given 100% weightage.

Factors impacting coking coal import prices –

India’s coking coal imports drop 25% in Feb’25- India’s coking coal imports stood at 4.22 million tonnes (mnt) in February, marking a 25% decline from 5.7 mnt in January and a 6% decrease from 4.6 mnt in February 2024, as per provisional data with BigMint. Notably, monthly volumes have fallen after hitting a seven-month high in January. Big companies have been securing coal following India’s quantitative restrictions on met coke imports, leading to a decline in met coke imports to 0.1 mnt (provisional) in February from the 2024 average of 0.4 mnt.

Weather-related disruptions in Australia- Furthermore, weather-related disruptions in Australia impacted supply, reducing India’s coking coal imports from the country to 1.8 mnt in February from 3.4 mnt in January.

Australian coking coal prices drop by over $5/t w-o-w- Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) was assessed at $178/t FOB, falling by $6.5/t w-o-w. Lower bids, weak demand, and improved supplies kept prices under pressure.

11th round of coke price cut in China – Sources said that many mills in China’s Shanxi are yet to resume production, expecting that steelmakers would press for the 11th coke price cut this week.