BigMint is a Market Intelligence and Price Reporting firm that caters to the data and analytics requirements of businesses in the commodities sector. It publishes real time prices and information, which is impartial, independent and reliable, sourced from all industry interfaces – sellers, buyers, agents and traders. This data is filtered and passed through very stringent, calculative assessments before final prices are derived, thereby giving our clients accurate pricing.

Go to List

India: Coal freights decline w-o-w amid oversupply in vessels

...

Non Coking

BigMint Bureau

73 Reads

9 Jan 2025, 19:56 IST

India: Coal freights decline w-o-w amid oversupply in vessels

Baltic indices exhibit mixed trends

No fixtures on Indonesia-India route

India's coal freights continued to fall this week amid an oversupply of vessels in the region, particularly from Southeast Asia. High tonnage availability shifted the market in favour of charterers, leading shipowners to lower rates to secure cargoes. This downward pressure was further compounded by weak demand for coal transportation and reduced bunker prices, which influence overall shipping costs.

Notably, thermal coal stocks at Indian ports increased by 6% to 13.93 million tonnes (mnt) in week 1 of calendar year 2025 (CY'25) from 13.13 mnt in week 52 of CY'24, according to BigMint's data.

Baltic indices exhibit mixed trend w-o-w: The Baltic indices, which indicate trends in vessel demand, largely fell w-o-w, suggesting tepid interest. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) was recorded at 1,072 points on 6 January, up by 82 points w-o-w. Meanwhile, the Baltic Panamax Index (BPI) edged up by 64 points to 1,040 points on 6 January against 976 points on 30 December. However, the Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) was assessed at 884 points on 6 January, inching down by 56 points w-o-w.

Route specifications

Australia-India rates inch up w-o-w: Freights from Australia edged up by $0.40/tonne (t) w-o-w, with BigMint's assessment indicating that rates for Hay Point Port to Paradip were at $11.9/dry metric tonne (dmt). Sources informed that SAIL have booked two Panamax vessel from Australia to East Coast India at a freight range of $12.75-12.95/t, with shipment scheduled for early February 2025 dates.

South Africa-India freights fall w-o-w: Freights from the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) to Paradip stood at $11.5/t, down by $0.1/t w-o-w. According to the sources, a Panamax vessel was booked from Richards Bay Port to Dhamra Port at $11.45/t, with shipment scheduled for 21-30 January, 2025.

Indonesia-India freights drop w-o-w: Freights for coal shipments from East Kalimantan to Paradip stood at $10.8/t, inching down by $0.2/t w-o-w. No fresh fixtures have been recorded in this route for this week.