Coal news and updates

Pet coke prices may firm up on Chinese buying

A sudden revival in demand from China for petroleum coke after a considerable gap appears to have raised expectations of firmness in prices in the coming days.

“Pet coke prices should go up if China is back in the market,” said an official with a leading pet coke trader in India.

For quite some time, prices of high sulphur pet coke of Saudi Arabian origin has been ruling at $37-38 per ton CFR India, while that of US Gulf Coast origin is at $42-43 per ton.

“Prices have been soft for quite some time because China was out of the market, leaving only India as a buyer among Asian countries. However, there have been reports that China is back in the market and this should definitely impact prices,” said the official.

China is indeed a game-changer and prices of pet coke fell drastically in the last quarter of 2015 mainly because it was out of the market, an official with a refining company said.

However, an official from another trading company said there continues to be excess supply in the market where demand is not that encouraging.

That there is no appetite for pet coke at present can be gauged from the fact that despite the current low levels, hardly any deal is taking place as far as India is concerned.

However, some material is arriving against orders placed in the past and according to market sources, the deliveries of such cargo are happening on time.

According to information available with ICMW, recently, UltraTech Cement had floated an enquiry for one parcel.

Nirma, a chemical manufacturer, and cement-maker Indian Cement have placed orders for one parcel each for US Gulf Coast cargo. The price range for the orders were $42-45 per ton CFR.

In addition, companies like Dalmia Cement continue to invite offers even as they are not placing orders, industry sources said.

Meanwhile, Indian refiners have already increased prices by Rs 300 per ton for loading in February in anticipation of a rise in demand and slight reduction in their inventories.

Source: ICMW