Coal news and updates

Subdued trend in coal demand, prices

December 30: Coal demand from the domestic market remained subdued amid the holiday cheer during the week ended December 27. There was also a drop in imports of coal despite softness in the international market, industry sources said.

Import figures fell by 8.53% to 2.25 million tons (mt) in the week ended December 27 as compared to 2.46 mt (revised) and 2.37 mt (provisional) imported in the week ended December 20. Only a couple of new tenders were floated for imported coal by MMTC and Nalco during the week.

In the international market, steam coal prices at RBCT registered a drop, while Australian coal prices were up marginally and Indonesian prices were largely flat. There was a flat trend in the coking coal market as well.

Meanwhile, Anglo American has settled the January-March, 2014 coking coal deals with Asian steel-makers at $143 per ton FOB Australia, down $9 per ton from the fourth quarter of 2013, market sources said.

With the rupee coming under pressure against the US dollar and the industrial sector showing no sign of a revival, domestic demand for coal is unlikely to show any significant uptick during the coming weeks, the sources said.