- West coast sees steady dispatches, restricted arrivals
- Adani, Agarwal Coal’s inventories fall amid active sales
India’s portside thermal coal inventories slipped 3.2% w-o-w to 12.57 million tonnes (mnt) in Week 45 (ending 9 November 2025) from 12.98 mnt in Week 44. The decline was driven by limited vessel arrivals and weak restocking sentiment, especially across the west coast, while select eastern ports saw recovery post-cyclone disruptions.
East coast ports recover post-cyclone
Stocks at Paradip surged 19.6% to 1.60 mnt from 1.34 mnt in Week 44, supported by improved vessel handling and fresh arrivals post-cyclone. Haldia rose 9.2% to 0.18 mnt, while Krishnapatnam gained 7.8% to 0.21 mnt. Tuticorin also inched up 2.4% to 0.89 mnt amid steady inflows. However, Dhamra declined 7.7% to 1.28 mnt, and Gangavaram dropped 10.1% to 0.19 mnt as discharge rates normalised post earlier disruptions. Vizag remained marginally lower at 0.99 mnt, compared with 1.01 mnt last week.
West coast sees steady offtake, limited arrivals
The west coast witnessed a sharper decline in stocks, largely due to steady dispatches and restricted vessel inflows rather than weak buying. Kandla fell 21.8% to 0.56 mnt from 0.71 mnt, while Mundra dropped 16.6% to 0.70 mnt from 0.84 mnt. Navlakhi declined 5.5% to 1.01 mnt, and Tuna registered a sharper drop of 33.8% to 0.15 mnt, as cargo movement remained active. Meanwhile, Dahej and Magdalla showed slight increases of 1.4% and 6.9%, to 1.05 mnt and 0.52 mnt, respectively, supported by regular inflows.
Company-wise update
Adani Enterprises’ portside inventories declined 7.2% w-o-w to 3.19 mnt from 3.44 mnt, while Agarwal Coal saw a steeper fall of 10.6% to 1.05 mnt from 1.18 mnt, reflecting active sales and delayed replenishments following festive disruptions.
Market overview
South African portside thermal coal prices in India inched up this week, supported by stronger export tags. RB2 (5500 NAR) rose by INR 100/t w-o-w to INR 8,300/t exw in Paradip from INR 8,200/t, while Gangavaram and Vizag witnessed an INR 150/t rise to INR 8,350/t from INR 8,200/t, amid improving export market sentiment.
Indian portside prices of Indonesian-origin thermal coal edged up w-o-w, supported by firmer seaborne benchmarks and revived Chinese buying ahead of winter. BigMint assessed 5000 GAR at INR 7,150/t at Kandla and INR 7,050/t at Vizag, while 4200 GAR stood at INR 5,800/t and INR 5,700/t, respectively. The 3400 GAR grade rose to INR 4,450/t at Navlakhi. Gains were limited by weak freight and cyclone delays.
Outlook
Portside market sentiment remains weak, as demand from key sectors stays muted and traders await pricing clarity. With limited restocking interest amid a hike in import offers of coal, bookings might remain sluggish in the coming week.
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