- Inquiries from Indian mills for Jan’26 cargoes heard
- Second price cut weighs on China’s met coke market
BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $227/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 12 December, up by $3/t against the previous assessment on 06 December 2025.
“We are in the market for January 2026 cargoes; however, offers have increased significantly. Australian prime cargoes are scarce and currently quoted at $230-235/t CFR India,” an Indian steel mill source noted.
Sources indicated that weather disruptions affecting Australian coal mines are beginning to lend upward support to prices, with recent trades in China reflecting a notable increase. Despite this, the majority of Indian mills and end users remain cautious, placing bids $5-10/t (around $225/t CFR levels) lower than current offers.
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
India’s met coke market stable – The Indian metallurgical coke (met coke) market remained largely unchanged for both Western and Eastern regions of India during the week ending 10 December. In eastern India, BF-grade (25-90 mm) met coke was assessed at INR 32,000/t ex-Jajpur, unchanged w-o-w. Western India also reported stable prices at INR 30,200/t ex-Gandhidham.
Australian premium hard coking coal prices saw a $4/t w-o-w increase, reaching $206/t FOB, adding slight upward cost pressure to Indian coke producers. However, domestic demand conditions remained neutral, keeping price movements contained.
Second price cut weighs on China’s met coke market – China’s metallurgical coke market stayed under pressure on December 10, as some steelmakers announced a new RMB 50-55/tonne ($7-7.7/t) cut in their purchasing prices for all coke products, effective December 12, according to Mysteel Global. The persistent losses had mainly prompted domestic steelmakers to claw back some margins from their upstream suppliers, as reported.
India’s BF-rebar trade prices edge up w-o-w – In the BF rebar segment, prices have increased as mills raised their offers despite weak market demand. Buyers are reluctant to accept the higher levels resulting in slow trade activity. Market participants informed BigMint that buyers were struggling to absorb the price hike by mills earlier in the month. Trade-level BF rebar prices increased by INR 500/t ($6/t) w-o-w to INR 47,500/t ($525/t) exy-Mumbai, as per BigMint’s assessment on 12 December. Prices are exclusive of GST at 18%.
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