India: Met coke prices rise by INR 3000/t in eastern India, west coast prices stable
Domestic prices of metallurgical (met) coke in the eastern belt of India have risen by INR 3,000/t while offers have increased by INR 5,000/t towards the end of the week....
Domestic prices of metallurgical (met) coke in the eastern belt of India have risen by INR 3,000/t while offers have increased by INR 5,000/t towards the end of the week. However, with no major trade being heard, trade prices in the western belt of India remained unchanged w-o-w.
This vast divide between the prices is majorly because of lack of demand in the western region while pig iron producers in the east are aggressively booking met coke amid acute coking coal shortage.
| Product | Grade | Jan'22 W2 | Jan'22 W3 | Change |
| Met coke, ex-Cuttack | BF grade 25-90 mm | INR 48,000 | INR 51,000 | + 3000 |
| Met coke, ex-Surat | BF grade 25-90 mm | INR 48,000 | INR 48,000 | - |
| Coking Coal, FoB Australia | Low Vol-Hard coking | $444.5 | $444.5 | - |
| Pig Iron, Exw-Durgapur | Steel grade | INR 44,200 | INR 46,700 | +2500 |
.Prices shown in the table above are the actual trade price
Buyers' reluctance
The persistent coking coal shortage and the likelihood of no improvement in its supplies in the near term has made buyers accept the raised met coke prices.
"There are no imported met coke offers from China and Japan and thus we have no option but to rely on domestic coke to keep our plants running. The demand for steel is also going steady and with the risen pig iron prices this week, we are at break-even with no profit and no loss," said a pig iron manufacturer based in Kolkata.
Sellers' stance
With integrated steel players like Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) in the market to purchase 20,000 tonnes of met coke, coupled with a merchant met coke demand of 50,000-70,000 tonnes, it has turned into sellers' market.
"Although this week the global coking coal market remained stable due to Chinese spring festival holidays, coking coal prices would go up once again next week, giving further push to met coke prices. This is the reason why buyers are aggressively looking for met coke purchases," informed a seller based in Odisha.
Australian supply crunch continues
Seaborne coking coal supply from Australia continues to be restrained due to heavy rains in the key mining regions of Queensland. Although the prices have remained unchanged w-o-w, due to Chinese holidays, market participants expect these to start going up from next week.
Outlook
Domestic met coke prices, especially in the eastern belt, are expected to increase further next week. In case imported coking coal prices do not go up next week, once the Chinese are back in the market, the same is expected to remain stable at the current levels due to supply issues.
