India: Portside thermal coal stocks dip 3% w-o-w on slower arrivals, higher drawdown

• Mundra sees 106% w-o-w surge in stocks
• Dhamra, Gangavaram log sharp declines

India’s portside thermal coal stocks declined by 3.4% w-o-w to 14.27 mnt in Week 31, from 14.77 mnt in the previous week. The drop comes amid slight demand pick-up seen for South African coal last week. Also, with the majority of traders being sold out for Aug’25, majority of traders are now heard offering cargoes for September arrivals.

Port-wise trends

Among key eastern and southern ports, Vizag’s inventory dropped by 0.09 mnt to 1.32 mnt in Week 31 from 1.41 mnt last week, recording a 6.3% w-o-w fall amid moderate inflows. Gangavaram saw a sharper decline of 19.2%, with stocks falling to 0.47 mnt from 0.58 mnt, while Dhamra recorded a 19.7% drop to 1.12 mnt from 1.39 mnt, reflecting limited vessel discharge. Mangalore saw a decline of 13.8% to 0.62 mnt from 0.71 mnt, and Kakinada dropped by 12.3% to 0.39 mnt from 0.44 mnt.

In contrast, Mundra posted a sharp 106.5% increase in coal stocks to 0.64 mnt, up from 0.31 mnt the previous week, indicating improved arrivals. Paradip remained largely steady with a minor rise to 1.75 mnt from 1.74 mnt (up 0.3%), while Haldia saw a slight gain to 0.12 mnt from 0.11 mnt (up 1.7%). Meanwhile, Karaikal rose significantly by 40.7% to 0.38 mnt from 0.27 mnt, supported by active vessel handling.

Company-wise movement

Adani Enterprise’s inventory rose marginally by 1.6% to 2.97 mnt this week, while Agarwal Coal saw a decline of 4.4% to 1.11 mnt, showing varied inventory strategies amid volatile market conditions.

Market overview

South African thermal coal offers surged at Indian ports last week amid rising freights prior week and tight supply. Offers for RB2 rose to INR 8,500/tonne (t) across major eastern India ports this week, but trades were not heard at these levels. RB2 was assessed at INR 8,100/t and RB3 at INR 7,050/t exw-Gangavaram, up INR 300/t and INR 250/t w-o-w. Vizag saw sharper d-o-d hikes of INR 650/t (RB2) and INR 350/t (RB3), driven by Panamax freight rise and low August availability. Sponge buyers started booking for September amid a firm price outlook.

Indian portside prices of Indonesian thermal coal were flat despite sluggish demand and high stocks. While buyers remained cautious, rising freight costs and fewer vessel arrivals during the monsoon kept prices supported. BigMint assessed 5000 GAR steady at INR 7,150/t at Kandla and INR 7,050/t at Vizag, with 3400 GAR at Navlakhi inching up INR 50/t to INR 4,400/t.