- China likely to see fourth round of met coke price hikes
- Indian BF rebar market sees mixed trends in early-Nov’25
BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $211/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 07 November 2025, up by $1/t against the previous assessment on 31 October.
“Prevailing Australian PHCC offers to India seem to be driven by the Chinese market, as Indian steel mills’ bids are on the lower side. There were unconfirmed reports of a couple of GYC cargoes getting booked to India this week at $210-215/t CFR India levels, but no firm confirmations have been received yet,” said a trader.
“We are in discussions for booking a part cargo of 35,000-40,000 t PHCC from Australia. Offers are largely around $211-212/t CFR levels; however, bids are lower by $3-4/t. Hence, the deal is still under negotiation,” said a participant from a southern India-based mill.
Rationale
BigMint’s coking coal index is derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, bids, and indicative prices.
No deal was heard concluded. Hence, this category was not considered for index computation and given a weightage of 0%.
Thirteen (13) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. Out of these, twelve (12) were considered for price calculation and given 100% weightage.
BigMint has consolidated its Prime Hard Coking Coal (PHCC) CFR India Index to include material of all origins, including US, Canada, Mozambique, Australia — normalised for quality and freight. With India steadily reducing its reliance on Australian PHCC and increasing imports from alternative sources, this update ensures the index accurately reflects evolving market dynamics and trade flows.
Factors impacting imported coking coal prices
1. Eastern India’s met coke prices climb to 6-month high on tight supplies: India’s metallurgical coke (met coke) market witnessed mixed momentum during the week ending 6 November 2025. While eastern India saw mild price gains due to tight supply and a hike in Australian coking coal tags, western markets remained largely unchanged amid steady demand and adequate supply. In the east, BF-grade (25-90 mm) met coke prices were assessed at INR 31,000/t ex-Jajpur, a rise of INR 500/t w-o-w. Notably, met coke prices in eastern India have climbed to nearly a 6-month high, levels last seen at the end of May 2025. A southern India-based blast furnace player has been actively inquiring for bulk met coke purchases, floating tenders. As per sources, the company has finalised a couple of tenders recently, which has tightened the domestic merchant market supply, resulting in elevated offers from other sellers.
2. China’s met coke market likely to see 4th round of price hike: China’s met coke market has strengthened in early November, backed by tight supply and elevated raw material costs. Despite weak steel margins, production curbs in Hebei and Shanxi helped balance market sentiment. Despite resistance from end users, a fourth round of met coke price hike is expected in the near term, with three rounds of hikes already in place.
3. Mixed pricing signals seen in Indian BF rebar market in early-Nov25: The Indian blast furnace (BF) rebar market witnessed mixed pricing signals in early-November 2025. Some leading primary mills increased rebar prices by up to INR 1,250/t ($14/t) for early-November 2025 deliveries as against those prevailing in end-October, sources informed BigMint. Meanwhile, others rolled over their prices against previous levels.
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