India: Domestic met coke prices remain steady w-o-w

• Chinese mills accept 1st round of price cut
  
  
• Indian pig iron prices drop w-o-w
  
  

India's domestic met coke prices remained largely unchanged this week. According to BigMint's assessment, 25-90 mm blast furnace (BF) grade met coke was recorded at INR 33,400/tonne (t) exw-Jajpur. Prices in Gandhidham remained stable at INR 29,600/t. A deals for 12,000 t of met coke was heard concluded at INR 33,250/t in Jajpur.

As per provisional data maintained with BigMint, India's met coke output totalled 3.10 mnt in September 2024, with 0.35 mnt from merchant miners.

Market overview

Imported met coke bookings regain momentum with prices under pressure: Imported met coke offers to India dipped slightly w-o-w to $275-290/t CFR from Indonesia from $285-290/t CFR last week. Sources indicate that Indian mills booked cargoes for immediate delivery at around $290/t CFR India.

After a three-week slump, coke demand experienced a strong recovery, with requests for quotations (RFQs) and demand increasing, though prices remained under pressure.

New bookings from Indonesia for end-November loading are being concluded primarily by trading companies securing stock for sales and participating in tenders from steel mills.

Coking coal prices down 6% w-o-w: Australian coking coal prices fell by 6% w-o-w to $199/t FOB yesterday. Prices were under pressure, as some cargoes for reselling came into the market. Some demand was seen in the Indian and Chinese markets. Besides, the bid-offer disparity continued to keep transactions on the lower side.

Chinese mills accept 1st round of price cuts: The first round of met coke price cuts landed in China, with a drop of RMB 50-55/t. The second round is expected to follow soon.

Indian pig iron prices drop w-o-w: Steel-grade pig iron prices in Durgapur declined by INR 1,650 to INR 38,650/t exw, while those in Ludhiana decreased by INR 1,100/t w-o-w.

Outlook

Indian domestic met coke prices have not seen any significant developments recently, with imports still being preferred to domestic material due to cost efficiency. Any adjustments of Chinese met coke prices may affect the Indian domestic met coke prices.