India: Portside thermal coal stocks remain stable w-o-w

• Mundra, Dhamra post sharp gains
• Navlakhi, Kandla record declines

Portside thermal coal inventories in India were largely stable in Week 27 at 15.92 mnt, up slightly from 15.86 mnt in the preceding week, as steady arrivals matched slow demand.

Port-wise inventory trends

Among key ports, Paradip’s inventories rose 7.4% w-o-w to 1.85 mnt from 1.73 mnt, while those at Vizag increased 5.8% to 1.43 mnt from 1.36 mnt. Dhamra recorded a notable 15.5% gain to 1.46 mnt from 1.26 mnt, supported by steady arrivals. Mundra saw the sharpest jump among major ports, with stocks climbing up by 19.1% to 0.89 mnt.

Conversely, Mangalore’s stocks dropped by 11.5% w-o-w to 0.71 mnt from 0.81 mnt, and those at Gangavaram edged down by 1.7% to 0.23 mnt. Haldia stayed nearly flat at 0.22 mnt. Elsewhere, Navlakhi fell by 18% w-o-w to 0.87 mnt, and Kandla declined by 9.1% to 1.11 mnt. Overall, steady arrivals at eastern ports were balanced by lower offtake and minor declines at western ports, keeping total stocks nearly unchanged w-o-w.

Company-wise inventory trends

Adani Enterprise’s portside stocks dipped by 1.8% w-o-w to 3.03 mnt, while Agarwal Coal saw a sharper fall of 8.8% to 1.12 mnt.

Market overview

South African thermal coal prices at Indian ports moved up slightly this week. RB2 (5500 NAR) rose INR 50/t to INR 7,650/t exw-Gangavaram, while RB3 (4800 NAR) was up by the same at INR 6,650/t. CNF offers stayed flat at $80-81/t for RB2 and $68-69/t for RB3, despite earlier index gains.

Indonesian thermal coal prices stayed mostly flat w-o-w at Indian ports, reflecting quiet buying interest. As per BigMint, 5000 GAR held steady at INR 7,400/t in Kandla and INR 7,300/t at Vizag; 4200 GAR was at INR 5,750/t and INR 5,650/t, respectively, while 3400 GAR remained at INR 4,300/t at Navlakhi.