- Indian sponge iron prices remain range-bound
- Gangavaram port resumes operations post-closure
- According to market participants, RB2 coal deal done for 10,000t at INR 9,900 at Krishnapatnam port this week
- Another deal for 5,000 t of RB2 coal was heard at 9,900/t ex-Vizag port.
South African prices at portside
Portside prices of RB3 (4800 NAR) coal have remained stable w-o-w and are currently assessed at $82/t, FoB levels. Similarly, RB2 (5500 NAR) coal prices have also remained unchanged w-o-w at $95/t FoB
South Africa’s thermal coal exports fell by 2% m-o-m to 5.27 million tonnes (mnt) in April as against 5.36 mnt in March. However, exports dropped by 6% y-o-y to 5.27 mnt in April compared to 5.60 mnt in April 2023. India was the leading buyer of South African coal at 2.59 mnt in April 2024, up 11% m-o-m as against 2.33 mnt in March.
Sponge iron prices remain range-bound
Sponge iron (P-DRI) prices increased by INR 100/t w-o-w to INR 29,600/t exw Raipur on 17 May.
Buyers were active in booking materials at the start of this week and had placed sufficient orders. However, due to the continuous increase in prices, buying demand remained limited in today’s trading session.
India’s Gangavaram port operations resume
Adani Gangavaram Port Limited (AGPL) had declared force majeure on 10 April, 2024 due to employee agitation, disrupting cargo handling and associated operations. In the recent development heard by BigMint, the strike has been called off and both the conveyors have resumed coke movement operations, recently. Imports at Gangavaram dropped m-o-m to 0.2 mnt in April as against 1.3 mnt in March.
Outlook