Anthracite coal import offers to India have remained almost flat so far this fiscal year owing to the persistence of demand sluggishness in the country’s end markets.
Hence, Indian imports of this rarely used energy commodity have been inconspicuous; though last week a wholly-owned government enterprise, KIOCL Limited, has invited a tender for purchase of 25,000 MT anthracite coal for use in its pellet plant unit at Mangalore.
At a global level, however, anthracite coal has sustained healthy demand on the back of its superior chemical composition relative to the other types of low-quality coal from lignite and sub-bituminous through to bituminous coal.
In fact, governments today are actively encouraging anthracite’s use because it burns cleaner and hotter than any other coal type. Moreover, as a vital component in the production of chemicals, plastics and energy, anthracite has become an indispensable commodity.
Anthracite when burnt produces more heat than any other coal because it is mostly made up of 70% free carbon and has low levels of sulphur and other impurities. But this hard rock has high carbon dioxide emissions, as it contains less hydrogen than other grades.
Source: CoalMint Research
The latest offers for anthracite coal hover around USD 138/MT FOB Russia, which amounts to around USD 151/MT CNF India; unchanged from the preceding weekly assessments.
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