- Strong rebuilds at Mangalore, Tuna offset drawdowns at Vizag, Karaikal
- Buyers stay cautious due to weak demand and uneven vessel arrivals
India’s portside thermal coal inventories rose marginally w-o-w to 13.07 mnt in week 50, compared with 13.05 mnt in week 49. While the national stock level stayed broadly stable underlying port-wise movements remained highly uneven, with sharp rebuilds at select west coast ports offsetting drawdowns across parts of the east coast. Vessel arrivals, uneven discharge schedules, and cautious offtake continued to shape weekly movements.
East coast
East coast stock movements showed mixed momentum during the week. Dhamra recorded a strong recovery, rising 13.8% w-o-w to 1.45 mnt from 1.28 mnt, supported by higher arrivals and slower dispatches. Paradip edged up marginally by 0.9% to 1.64 mnt, compared with 1.63 mnt last week, indicating stabilising inflows.
In contrast, Vizag saw a sharp decline of 14% to 1.03 mnt, down from 1.19 mnt, reflecting lower arrivals and steady evacuation.
Haldia saw stocks increase by 15.4% to 0.27 mnt from 0.23 mnt, while stocks in Tuticorin rose 5% to 0.73 mnt.
Kakinada saw stocks falling sharply by 31.3% to 0.26 mnt from 0.37 mnt, and inventories in Gangavaram declined 20.3% to 0.17 mnt from 0.21 mnt, reversing last week’s strong gains.
Krishnapatnam witnessed stocks inching up by 4.1% to 0.23 mnt, showing marginal stabilisation.
West coast
Some west coast-based ports saw sharp rebuilds: Mangalore recorded one of the strongest gains of 42.6% w-o-w to 0.51 mnt from 0.36 mnt.
Coal stocks in Tuna jumped 65.1% to 0.15 mnt from 0.09 mnt, while in Jamnagar stocks rose climbed 34.1% to 0.38 mnt from 0.28 mnt. In Magdalla, inventories increased 15.1% to 0.75 mnt, while in Dahej these rose by 8.9% to 1.03 mnt. Meanwhile, Mundra saw a decline of 7.5% to 0.92 mnt, and Navlakhi a drop of 3.9% to 0.95 mnt, indicating balanced arrivals and dispatches.
Stocks in Kandla dropped 12.6% to 0.39 mnt, while in Bhavnagar they eased 6.3% to 0.15 mnt. Muldwaraka saw stocks declining 20% to 0.04 mnt. Notably, Karaikal recorded a complete drawdown, witnessing nil stocks comapred to 0.29 mnt last week.
Adani builds, Agarwal trims
Adani Enterprises increased inventories by 1.5% w-o-w to 3.50 mnt, up from 3.45 mnt, supported by steady arrivals. In contrast, Agarwal Coal reduced stocks by 8.7% to 0.99 mnt, down from 1.09 mnt, reflecting higher dispatches and limited replenishment.
Outlook
Portside inventories are expected to remain range-bound. Uneven vessel arrivals, cautious buying on weak sponge iron and steel demand, and firm imported coal prices continue to limit aggressive restocking. Market participants are expected to closely monitor domestic auction flows and seaborne price direction before committing to large inventory builds.
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