Coal news and updates

Indian cement-makers expect global pet coke prices to ease

July 8: A section of Indian cement-makers expect international petroleum coke prices to soften a bit in July-August after retaining an almost stable trend over the past couple of months.

“We expect international pet coke prices to soften on lack of demand from China and elsewhere,” an official from a Mumbai-headquartered cement company said.

Echoing the sentiment, a Kolkata-based company said it was planning to conclude deals to procure imported pet coke for loading in July, but had postponed the deal.

“We had concluded a deal for loading of one cargo of 85,000 tons of pet coke at about $100 per ton CIF India and were planning to book two more cargoes for loading in July and August, but had deferred the deal as prices are likely to fall,” the official added.

According to information gathered from industry sources, high sulphur imported pet coke is offered in the range of $57-60 per ton FOB US gulf coast, whereas the mid-sulphur material is available at about $70 per ton FOB US gulf coast.

The price of imported pet coke has remained almost unchanged for the last almost three months due to sufficient availability and comparatively low demand, industry sources said.