India: Portside thermal coal stocks rise w-o-w even as regional trends diverge

• Vizag, Gangavaram record strong stock gains 
• West coast sees sharp stock declines at key ports

India’s portside thermal coal inventories rose slightly by 0.8% w-o-w to 13.05 mnt in week 49 compared with 12.94 mnt in week 48. The overall increase masked significant divergence across ports, where sharp gains at a few terminals were offset by declines at others. Vessel arrivals remained uneven, while dispatch flows shaped weekly stock movements.

Vizag leads gains, Paradip and Dhamra soften

The east coast registered a mixed trend.
Vizag recorded a strong rebound, rising 8.1% to 1.19 mnt from 1.10 mnt, supported by steady arrivals.
Tuticorin increased 7.9% to 0.69 mnt from 0.64 mnt, reflecting improved intake.
Haldia rose 17% to 0.23 mnt from 0.20 mnt, while Gangavaram surged 92.7% to 0.21 mnt from 0.11 mnt, one of the strongest recoveries this week.

In contrast, Paradip fell 2.7% to 1.63 mnt from 1.68 mnt, signalling slower inflows.
Dhamra dipped 3.2% to 1.28 mnt from 1.32 mnt, and Kakinada eased 6.9% to 0.37 mnt.
Krishnapatnam declined 15.5% to 0.22 mnt, weighed by limited arrivals.

Magdalla, Mundra recover while Kandla, Mangalore decline

West coast performance remained uneven.
Magdalla posted a sharp rise of 10% to 0.65 mnt from 0.59 mnt, while Mundra increased 8.2% to 1.00 mnt from 0.92 mnt.
Navlakhi grew 3.7% to 0.99 mnt, and Hazira climbed 3.2% to 1.93 mnt.

However, Kandla saw a steep decline of 22.8% to 0.45 mnt from 0.58 mnt, signalling weaker arrivals.
Mangalore dropped 18.3% to 0.36 mnt, while Tuna plunged 36.3% to 0.09 mnt.
Bhavnagar slipped 5.9%, and Muldwaraka declined 16.7% amid modest arrivals.

Karaikal stood out with a strong recovery of 27.5% to 0.29 mnt from 0.22 mnt.

Adani rebuilds stocks 

Adani Enterprises increased its inventories by 3.4% to 3.45 mnt, up from 3.33 mnt, as arrivals outpaced dispatches across its network.
Agarwal Coal saw a marginal 0.2% rise to 1.09 mnt, maintaining steady inflows.

Outlook

Portside inventories were expected to stay moderate, with inconsistent arrivals and cautious restocking shaping short-term momentum. Firm South African offers, higher seaborne indices and freight constraints continued to influence sentiment, while traders awaited clearer signals ahead of peak winter procurement.