Posted on 15 May 2025
Indian domestic metallurgical coke prices have come under renewed pressure following quota adjustments last month, which allowed several mills to increase their imports from Indonesia, Kallanish notes.
Prices for 25-90mm blast furnace-grade met coke are currently assessed at INR 32,000-33,000/tonne ($375-386) ex-works in eastern India and at INR 30,000-31,000/t ($351-375) in the west.
Last month, select Indian mills were permitted to readjust their import quotas. JSW Steel, for instance, was granted approval to import 106,000 tonnes of met coke from Indonesia, well above the standard quota of 66,364t allocated to the country for the first half of 2025.
This exception was made as earlier quotas remained underutilised, while the total import quotas stayed within India’s overall cap of 1.44 million tonnes for January-June 2025.
The move has exerted downward pressure on domestic coke prices, with mills ramping up Indonesia-origin imports.
India imported 1.29 million tonnes of met coke during January-April, a 5% increase year-on-year. Major volumes were sourced from Indonesia, Poland, Colombia, and Japan. AMNS and Tata Steel were the top importers, according to trade data shared with Kallanish.
“Although quotas were in place, many mills pre-booked imports fearing restrictions. While some cargoes were cancelled, others arrived late due to legal procedures. With quotas set to expire next month, the government may either revise them or consider imposing anti-dumping duties,” a Mumbai-based coal trader says.
Demand for both met coke and coking coal in India remains steady, with mills procuring as per operational needs.
Coking coal prices have rebounded from a four-year low of $168/t fob Australia at end-March to $196/t fob for premium-grade material, yet no major shift in sentiment has been observed.
“India remains in a comfortable position. When safeguard duties were proposed, we saw a brief rise in inquiries. However, the market has since stabilised. The recent India-Pakistan tensions had little to no impact on Indian coking coal demand, as panic buying was absent,” adds another Mumbai-based trader.
Source:Kallanish
