Coking Coal Imports in India Sink 18.4% M-o-M in Feb'18
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In Feb'18, there was a tangible decline in the Coking Coal imports in India.
According to an analysis on the import data compiled by CoalMint Research, Coking Coal imports in the second month of the current year in India sank by around 18.40% over the imports in Jan'18. The month-on-month drop in the imports could be attributed to the buyers in India lowering their imports in the month under consideration due to the prevalence of high prices of the coal in the Australian market. Prices of the coal were significantly higher in Australia in Feb'18 as the Chinese steel makers had imported aggressively for stocking the coal ahead of the Lunar Year holidays, creating robust demand.
In India, Coking Coal imports were at around 3.99 MnT in Feb'18, according to the import data maintained by CoalMint Research. In Jan'18, the imports were at around 4.89 MnT, according to the database.
Source: CoalMint Research
On year-on-year comparison, the Feb'18 imports however had gained over the imports of around 3.8 MnT in Feb'17 by around 5%.
Out of the importing nations, the major proportion of the imports was from Australia-- conforming to the normal trend. Calculations show that around 76% of the import share in the month was accounted by the imports of the coal from Australia.
| Quantity in MnT | |||
| ORIGIN | Feb'18 | Jan'18 | Change(%) |
| Australia | 3.05 | 3.75 | -18.67 |
| Canada | 0.27 | 0.6 | -55.00 |
| Russia | 0.24 | 0.12 | 100.00 |
| USA | 0.2 | 0.23 | -13.04 |
| Mozambique | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.00 |
| Others | 0.12 | 0.08 | 50.00 |
| TOTAL | 3.99 | 4.89 | -18.40 |
Source: CoalMint Research
Among the various ports in India, the Paradip port had handled the highest volume of import traffic during the month; followed by the Dhamra and Haldia ports.
Source: CoalMint Research
Out of the importers, SAIL had imported around 1.07 MnT of the coal during the month; Tata Steel imported around 0.87 MnT; JSW Steel imported around 0.40 MnT; Bhushan Steel imported 0.36 MnT and Jindal Steel & Power imported 0.26 MnT.
The other importers during the month were: Visa Steel, Narayani Coal, Adani Enterprises, RINL, Shyam Group, Anand Carbon, among others.
In the succeeding month, the imports in India are expected to remain at around the Feb'18 levels.
