Petroleum coke import prices have shown a minor correction during the past fortnight following a long run up in the international market till recently.
However, as compared to same period last month, the current average price of US-origin pet coke (6.5% sulphur) is assessed at around US$ 127-128 per tonne (t) on CNF India basis, compared with US$ 125-126/t, this indicating an increase of US$ 2/t over the past two-week period.
Offers for Saudi-origin pet coke (9% sulphur) are presently hovering in the range of US$ 124-125/t CNF India, as against the earlier price of around US$ 122-123/t, resulting in an increase of US$ 2/t over the past two weeks.
The USGC FOB price of pet coke (6% sulphur) – widely accepted as reference across international markets – has increased by US$ 3/t to US$ 78-79/t, over the price of US$ 75-76/t prevailing in the last fortnight.
Average shipping freight rates from USGC to Indian ports for Supramax vessel (50,000-55,000 tons deadweight (DWT)) are currently assessed at US$ 47-48/t, compared with US$ 51-52/t in the last fortnight. Thus, there has been a decrease of approximately $4/t in ocean freight over the past two weeks, hitting the highest multiyear level yet again.
Notably, this is the first sign of prices cooling off, which had a long run up from Jul’20 onwards and continued till recently. The price correction is attributed to limited deals at the peak levels as it was not working out economical against other alternatives like imported thermal coals such as South African RB2 and US mid-CV coal.
However, as the availability of pet coke still remains restricted, any major correction is not expected in the near future. This is also supported by strong domestic demand for pet coke by cement industries in India due to increased infrastructural activities. But with the recent implementation of Covid-related lockdowns and ‘Break The Chain’ guidelines by various state governments, cement production may decrease causing lower demand for pet coke on in near future.
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