- Australian coking coal prices surge by $15/t since early Jan’26
- Imported met coke bookings in India reported from Indonesia
Indian steelmakers seem to be considering importing met coke despite the recent imposition of an anti-dumping duty and a steep increase in landed costs. This comes amid a sharp hike in coking coal prices in early January, following a tropical cyclone in Australia, which disrupted supply. At the same time, while landed costs of met coke from Indonesia, the largest exporter to India, have increased, bookings by Indian steelmakers are increasingly being heard. BigMint explores the reasons for the shift in preferences.
Australian coking coal prices surge on supply disruptions
Australian coking coal prices have surged by nearly $15/tonne (t) since the beginning of this year, with price indications for premium hard coking coal (PHCC) standing at $230-235/t FOB Australia. Mining disruptions, owing to heavy rainfall from Cyclone Koji, have prompted a few miners to go for force majeure.
Imported PHCC price indications were at around $245-250/t CFR India from Australia. However, active bookings have not been heard at these levels. Sources expect coking coal prices to increase further in the near term.
Indonesian met coke bookings to India
BigMint learnt from sources that active bookings of Indonesian met coke have been reported after the imposition of anti-dumping duty, given the viability in landed costs and the tight availability of met coke with a high coke strength after reaction (CSR).
A western Indian steel mill was heard to have cut its crude steel production by 15% in December owing to insufficient availability of high-quality met coke in India. However, overall met coke supply remains adequate.
Notably, on 31 December, the Indian government imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke (with ash content below 18%) for a period of six months, aimed at protecting domestic producers from low-priced overseas supplies. The duty ranges between $60.87/t and $130.6/t, depending on the country of origin, and will apply to imports from China, Indonesia, Colombia, Japan, and Russia.
It should be noted that India’s metallurgical coke imports fell 20% y-o-y to 3.9 mnt in CY’25, according to provisional data. Quantitative restrictions on the imports of low-ash met (LAM) coke were the primary factor contributing to the sharp drop in volumes.
Price gap between met coke, coking coal narrows
Price indications of Indonesian met coke were heard at $240-245/t CFR India, with landed costs remaining viable even after the imposition of the anti-dumping duty. This has contributed to recent bookings of Indonesian imports. Landed prices were heard in the range of INR 30,000-31,000/t, while on the other hand, eastern India met coke prices were at INR 32,300/t ex-Jajpur.
However, with coking coal prices rising, it is expected that Indonesian met coke offers may also move up in the near term. Some market participants opined that if the coking coal price surge continues, mills may opt for importing met coke.
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