Argus Media : India's November coking coal imports hit 8-month high

India's coking coal imports in November rose to their highest in eight months, as a fall in prices prompted steel producers to increase shipments.

Imports were up by 14pc on the same month a year earlier and by 21pc on the previous month to 4.90mn t - the highest since March 2021, according to data from e-commerce firm Mjunction. Australia accounted for the bulk of the imports. Imports in October had fallen by 18pc on the year to 4.05mn t. January-November imports increased by 28pc from a year earlier to 51.3mn t.

Australian imports in November jumped by 46pc on the year and by 30pc on the month to 4.35mn t. Imports from the country had fallen by 13pc on the year in October.

The Argus premium low-volatile hard coking coal index closed at $337/t cfr India on 30 November, 22pc lower from $431/t on 29 October.

Higher raw material costs pushed up domestic steel prices to record highs in November.

India's pulverised coal injection (PCI) imports stood at 1.01mn t in November, down by 8pc on the year and by 21pc on the month. PCI imports from Australia stood at 787,793t, up by 25pc on the year but lower by 22pc from October, while Russian PCI arrivals fell by 50pc on the year to 221,874t. PCI imports had jumped by 61pc on the month in October to 1.28mn t. India's January-November PCI imports increased by 14pc from a year earlier to 12.7mn t.

India's met coke imports totalled 141,577t in November, down by 65pc on the year and by 21pc on the month. Arrivals from Poland topped November imports at 66,175t, followed by Colombia at 25,736t and Egypt at 20,318t. Other suppliers included Japan at 4,195t and China with 607t. Met coke imports in October had dropped by 45pc on the year, but rose by 21pc on the month to 180,168t.

Australian premium hard coking coal prices on a fob basis rose to an all-time high of $409.75/t on 23 September and stood at $390.60/t yesterday, up by 262pc on the year.

By Sumita Layek

India coking coal imports	'000t
Origin	Nov-21	Nov-20	± %	Jan-Nov 2021	Jan-Nov 2020	± %
Australia	4,347.8	2,980.7	+46	42,181.6	28,629.4	+47
US	158.1	340.2	-54.0	2,926.6	3,825.3	-23.0
Canada	165.2	307.7	-46.0	2,205.0	3,162.3	-30.0
Mozambique	98.7	191.0	-48.0	1,645.6	1,647.5	0.0
Indonesia	52.0	210.5	-75.0	1,082.4	1,552.4	-30.0
Russia	76.7	114.6	-33.0	1,015.7	992.2	+2
Others	0.0	98.0	-100.0	253.3	297.1	-15.0
Total	4,898.5	4,285.0	+14	51,310.3	40,148.4	+28
- Mjunction