Coal news and updates

Soft world prices perk up coal imports

Coal imports have surged 19 per cent in September, with the moderation in international prices.

Provisional data from online trader mjunction show that imports in September was 16.04 million tonnes (mt) compared with 13.45mt in the same period a year ago.

Besides the softening of the average price of Indonesian and South African coal, lower availability of domestic coal and an increase in the installed capacity of thermal power plants have boosted imports.

“Imports rose mainly because of continued softness in international coal prices, coming up of new plants and slightly lower availability of domestic coal,” said Viresh Oberoi, chief executive officer and managing director of mjunction, a joint venture of Tata Steel and the SAIL.

The average price of coal from Indonesia and South Africa fell 6-9 percent in September from a year earlier, Oberoi said. The average price of South African coal in September was $67 per tonne (free on board) against $71.50 per tonne in the same period last year.

The cost of mid-grade Indonesian coal fell to about $36.50 per tonne from $40 per tonne. Further, the installed capacity of coal-based power plants increased from about 150,000 megawatt (MW) in July to 152,000MW in August.

The company estimates that imports during the first six months (April-September) of 2014-15 rose 18. 47 per cent to 110.15mt from 92.98mt in the year-ago period.

Coal India, which supplies close to 80 per cent of domestic requirement, is struggling to meet its production target. Therefore, imports are the only alternative as more than half of the country’s power plants had only enough fuel to run uninterrupted for less than a week, as of September 29.

Inbound shipments of thermal coal, used to generate power, rose to 12.95mt last month from 10.05mt a year earlier. Imports of coking coal, used in steelmaking, fell slightly to 2.53mt, said mjunction, whose data are based on the monitoring of vessel positions and figures from shipping companies. Total shipments were 16.12mt in August.

“Imports should rise in the coming months, if coal prices remain soft or there is not much variation from current level in international markets,” Oberoi said.

Source:  The Telegraph, Kolkata