India: Portside thermal coal stocks rise w-o-w amid mixed evacuation, selective replenishment

• East coast sees drawdowns mostly, west coast trends mixed
• Agarwal Coal’s stocks fall 8%; Adani’s inventories remain stable

India’s portside thermal coal inventories increased marginally by around 1% w-o-w to 12.95 million tonnes (mnt) in week 4 (19-24 January 2026) from 12.83 mnt in week 3, reflecting uneven evacuation trends and selective arrivals across regions. While overall stocks edged higher, movements remained fragmented, with sharp drawdowns at some large ports offset by visible build-ups at others. The data continued to point towards logistics- and demand-driven stock movements rather than broad-based restocking activity.

East coast: sharp corrections at key ports, selective build-up elsewhere

On the east coast, stocks declined across several major ports. Paradip inventories fell 9% w-o-w to 1.34 mnt, while Dhamra recorded a sharper 15.8% drop to 1.18 mnt, indicating stronger evacuation during the week. Haldia stocks also declined by 12.2% to 0.24 mnt, while Gangavaram saw a steep 44.3% correction to 0.05 mnt. In contrast, Vizag recorded a notable build of 17.9% to 1.12 mnt, and Kakinada stocks surged 47.2% to 0.43 mnt, supported by fresh arrivals and relatively slower dispatches.

West coast: Mundra, Kandla build, others see corrections

West coast trends were similarly mixed. Mundra inventories rose sharply by 19.5% w-o-w to 1.09 mnt, reversing the previous week’s decline. Kandla also logged a strong 17.8% increase to 0.51 mnt, while Tuticorin and Mangalore recorded builds of 8% and 11.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, Hazira stocks eased 1.4% to 1.93 mnt, Dahej declined 2.5% to 1.05 mnt, and Navlakhi fell 10.8% to 0.80 mnt. Smaller ports such as Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Krishnapatnam also saw visible drawdowns.

Company-wise movement remains muted

At the company level, Adani Enterprises’ portside inventories were largely stable at 3.29 mnt. Agarwal Coal’s stocks declined more sharply by 8.2% to 1.00 mnt, indicating relatively higher evacuation across its operating ports during the week.

Outlook

Portside thermal coal inventories are expected to remain at around these levels in the near term. With no signs of aggressive restocking and evacuation patterns continuing to vary by port, weekly stock movements are likely to be driven by short-term logistics, cargo arrivals and region-specific demand rather than a sustained shift in buying behaviour.