- Portside thermal coal stocks in India dip w-o-w
- Sponge iron prices in India inch down w-o-w
BigMint’s assessment for portside prices of South African thermal coal in India showed mixed trends w-o-w. Prices remained unchanged at Gangavaram Port, with RB2 (5500 NAR) at INR 8,450/t exw and RB3 (4800 NAR) at INR 7,100/tonne (t) exw. However, at Paradip, offers for RB2 rose to INR 8,500-8,600/t exw, while those of RB3 increased to INR 7,350/t exw. However, no deals were concluded at these levels.
Offers for RB2 were slightly higher, but no deals were concluded at those levels, possibly due to sufficient domestic coal availability. Trade activity remained limited, with material availability issues at some ports.
Thermal coal inventories at Indian ports dipped 0.9% w-o-w to 11.72 million tonnes (mnt) in week 12 of CY’25 from 11.83 mnt in the previous week, as per BigMint’s data. Notably, coal stocks dropped at Vizag, Gangavaram, and Mundra ports.
Market updates
- South African coal export offers: South African RB2 export offers declined by $0.50/t w-o-w to $75.50/t FOB, while RB3 increased by $1/t to $59.50/t FOB.
- Domestic coal prices: The 4500 GCV grade remained at INR 4,500/t, while 5000 GCV dropped by INR 50/t to INR 4,950/t exw-Bilaspur. SECL will auction 2.5 mnt of non-coking coal on 29 March 2025, and prices may decline further after the auction due to surplus availability.
- Sponge iron prices: Indian C-DRI prices stood at INR 27,350/t exw-Rourkela, down by INR 50/t from INR 27,400/t last week.
Outlook
Portside South African thermal coal offers may continue to rise. However, trends in domestic coal prices will be a major factor to watch out for.
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