Coal news and updates

High sulphur pet coke priced at $86 per ton CIF

December 18: Price of imported pet coke from US Gulf has slipped to $86 per ton CIF India following a steep decline in Brent crude prices, industry sources said on December 18.

“The price of high sulphur pet coke is currently ruling at $86 per ton CIF but nothing would surprise me about mid-sulphur these days. The market has crashed and is threatening further losses,” an official from a trading company said.

At current levels, pet coke is cheaper or at par with coal prices and is likely to be the preferred fuel, the official added.

“Obvious, but it is worth mentioning that Brent crude oil markets are a big influence on the general energy complex and pet coke is no exception,” the official said.

The price of crude oil for the Indian basket had slipped to $57.29 per bbl on December 17 as compared to $106.02 per bbl as on May 2 this year, according to data available from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

However, the price of pet coke from domestic refineries or for that matter from the US Gulf has not adjusted in the similar way during the same period, the official pointed out.