India: Thermal coal port stocks edge down in week 43, 2024

• Adani Enterprise's stocks fall 7% w-o-w
  
  
• Vizag Port's inventories rise 21% w-o-w
  
  

Thermal or non-coking coal stocks at Indian ports decreased marginally by 2.3% to 12.46 million tonnes (mnt) in week 43 from 12.75 mnt in week 42, according to BigMint's data.

Company-wise break-up

• Adani Enterprise saw a decrease of 7.4%, with stocks at 3.83 mnt in week 43 compared with 4.14 mnt in week 42.
  
  
• Agrawal Coal's stocks increased by 5.6% to 0.93 mnt in week 43 from 0.88 mnt in the previous week.
  
  

Port-wise break-up

• Tuticorin saw an 11.2% w-o-w decrease, with stocks at 1.34 mnt in week 43.
  
  
• At Hazira (Adani), inventories increased by 8.4% to 1.10 mnt in week 43 from 1.02 mnt in week 42.
  
  
• Magdalla recorded a slight decrease of 1.9% to 1.24 mnt in week 43 compared to 1.27 mnt in the previous week.
  
  
• Mundra's stocks fell 8.3% to 1.03 mnt in week 43 from 1.12 mnt in week 42.
  
  
• Vizag registered a notable increase of 20.8%, with stocks rising to 0.48 mnt in week 43 from 0.40 mnt in week 42.
  
  
• Krishnapatnam's stocks fell 10.5% w-o-w to 0.62 mnt in week 43.
  
  

Market overview: Portside prices of South African thermal coal in India remained stable last week, with RB2 (5500 GAR) at INR 9,500/t and RB3 at INR 7,600/t ex-Gangavaram. Meanwhile, at South African ports, RB2 prices edged down to $89.5/t FOB, while RB3 (4800 NAR) offers were stable at $70/t FOB.

Weak domestic sponge iron prices softened demand, with buyers cautious and keeping bids low in hopes of further price drops. The Indian coal market is likely to remain quiet until after Diwali, with suppliers clearing inventory for December-loading.