Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) increased its petroleum coke price with effect from 1 Jul’21 to INR 12,783/tonne (t) ex-Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, over its last month’s price of INR 11,489/t, an increase of INR 1,294/t.
Nayara Energy (erstwhile Essar Oil) also increased its pet coke price to INR 12,826/t ex-Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, over its last month’s price of INR 11,531/t, an increase of INR 1,295/t.
Meanwhile, Indian-delivered prices for seaborne petroleum coke have substantially increased over the past three-week period, while Indian demand has largely collapsed due to competitively priced thermal coals and exorbitant freight rates.
The current average prices of US-origin pet coke, with 6.5% sulphur content, are assessed at $144-145/t on CNF India basis, as against the earlier prices of $130-131/t, an increase of $14/t in this month so far.
Offers for pet coke from Saudi Arabia, with 9% sulphur content, are presently assessed at around $131-132/t CNF India, up by $7/t compared with $124-125/t prevailing at the beginning of the month.
The US Gulf Coast (USGC) FoB prices of pet coke (6% sulphur), widely accepted as the reference across international markets, have increased by $11/t to $93-94/t, compared with $82-83/t at the beginning of this month.
Average shipping freight rates from USGC to Indian ports for Supramax vessels of 50,000-55,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) are currently assessed at $54.50/t, compared with $44.50/t at the end of last month, an increase of $10/t.
Price commentaries
RIL’s current price hike comes after a moderate increase of INR 132/t last month. In fact, there have been continuous price upticks every month starting from June last year, when the price was at INR 5,697/t, resulting in an increase of INR 7,086/t or almost 125% in the past 13 months.
Pet coke prices of Nayara Energy continue to be in tune with RIL’s, having a nominal difference of just INR 43/t in the current month.
This consistent price rise is supported by demand for pet coke by cement manufacturers for road construction and other infrastructural projects. Even though domestic production of pet coke has gradually increased, it is still lower than optimum levels.
Furthermore, lower availability of pet coke in the international market has pushed up prices. There is also a spurt in the prices of imported steam coal, which is primarily used as a substitute for pet coke by cement makers.
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