- Indian met coke prices remain stable w-o-w
- Indian BF rebar market exhibits mixed signals
BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $201/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 6 September 2025, down by $5/t against the previous assessment on 29 August. Australian coking coal offers were down by about $2/t w-o-w.
A few deals were concluded by Indian mills this week at $201/t CFR India, stated some market players. Most mills were understood to have bid at $200-203/t CFR India.
Rationale
BigMint’s coking coal index is derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, bids, and indicative prices.
A few deals were heard concluded but confirmation was not received. Hence, it was considered for index computation and given a weightage of 0%.
Six (6) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. Out of these, five (5) were considered for price calculation and given 100% weightage.
BigMint has consolidated its Prime Hard Coking Coal (PHCC) CFR India Index to include material of all origins, including US, Canada, Mozambique, Australia – normalised for quality and freight. With India steadily reducing its reliance on Australian PHCC and increasing imports from alternative sources, this update ensures the index accurately reflects evolving market dynamics and trade flows.
Factors impacting imported coking coal prices
1. Indian met coke market stays firm w-o-w amid mixed sentiments: The Indian metallurgical coke (met coke) market stayed largely stable w-o-w for the week ending 4 September, amid mixed sentiments. In eastern India, BF-grade (25-90 mm) met coke was assessed at INR 29,000/t ex-Jajpur, while in western India, prices held at INR 30,000/t exw-Gandhidham. Foundry-grade met coke stood at INR 35,600/t ex-Rajkot.
2. Chinese met coke prices steady, market braces for decline: Chinese met coke prices stayed flat on 2 September, with the anticipated eighth round of hikes failing to emerge as weak steel demand, furnace maintenance, and falling rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices dampened buying interest. Mills in Ningxia and Hebei have already announced cuts of RMB 50-55/t in coke purchase prices, while rising inventories and easing coking coal costs further stoked expectations of price declines post the 3 September military parade.
3. Indian BF rebar market shows mixed signals: Some leading primary mills increased rebar prices by INR 1,000/tonne (t) ($11/t) for early-September 2025 deliveries as against prices prevailing in end-August, sources informed BigMint. Meanwhile, some other mills rolled over their prices against the prevailing ones. Post-revision, list prices stood at INR 47,500-48,500/t ($538-549/t) on a landed basis. It should be noted that mills had offered discounts/rebates to augment sales last month.
Leave a Reply