The changing dynamics of India’s coking coal imports may readily be explained by the fact that Australian PHCC prices and, in the same token, prices of other grades of coking coal had risen sharply after imposition of sanctions on Russia. Due to extreme volatility in premium coking coal prices, and cost-competitive Russian cargoes, the choice was obvious for buyers. It is particularly striking that import volumes from the Atlantic market have edged up quite sharply, despite higher freights, due to the abnormal rise in Australian PHCC prices. BigMint believes that Indian BF steel producers are highly affected due to the volatile environment prevailing in the coking coal market. Of course, we expect that the BF-based steel mills are conducting many experiments with regard to changing coal blends for coke preparation. Notably, higher PCI use can hardly negate the importance of quality coke with higher strength after reactivity needed to ensure BF ironmaking efficiency.
