India: BigMint’s coking coal index remains flat w-o-w in absence of active trades

• Coking coal stocks at Indian ports rise w-o-w
• Met coke prices fall w-o-w on limited inquiries

BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $187/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 27 June 2025, stable against the previous assessment on 20 June. High port stocks, lower bids, and falling met coke prices were the primary reasons behind the absence of active trades.

“We are currently in the market for 30,000 tonnes of PHCC and price clarity will be their by early next week”, commented a source from Indian mill.

Rationale

BigMint’s coking coal index is derived using data points, i.e., trades, offers, bids, and indicative prices. No deals were recorded during the publishing window. Hence, this category was not considered for index computation and given a weightage of 0%.

Ten (10) firm offers, bids, and indicative prices were heard. Out of these, eight (8) were considered for price calculation and given 100% weightage.

Factors impacting imported coking coal prices

1. Indian met coke prices decline w-o-w amid limited inquiries: Indian metallurgical coke price tags continued to decline this week, amid tepid steel sector demand and policy-related uncertainties. According to BigMint’s assessment on 25 June, prices of the 25-90 mm blast furnace (BF) grade dropped by INR 1,000/t w-o-w to INR 28,000/t ex-Jajpur.

2. Chinese met coke prices stabilise after 4th cut: China’s coke market is showing early signs of stabilisation after four rounds of price cuts totalling RMB 220-240/t ($31-33/t) since mid-May. Steel mills in China resumed cautious restocking amid tight supply and rising coking coal costs. However, these developments have had minimal impact on Indian prices so far due to weak local fundamentals.

3. Coking coal stocks at Indian ports up w-o-w: Coking coal stocks at Indian ports rose to 6.61 mnt last week against 6 mnt in week 24.

4. Australian coking coal prices dip: Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) tags declined marginally by $1/t w-o-w to $174/t FOB last week, amid mixed market sentiment. However, there are expectations of price improvements for the premium low- and mid-vol grades. Although global coking coal prices recently stabilised, they have yet to offer meaningful support to Indian met coke prices.