NEW DEHLI: Indian coal imports declined by 21.7% to 14.31 million tons in January as the power utilities did not lift much fuel due to abundant stock available with them.
According to details, coal import (all type of coals) in January 2017 stood at 14.31 million tonnes (MT) (provisional) against 18.28 MT in January 2016, mjunction services, an online procurement and sales platform floated jointly by SAIL and Tata Steel said.
“In power sector, the state utilities are replete with stock and are aiming to curb imports altogether (except for coast-based plants) by March 2017. This explains the substantial drop….in steam coal imports in January 2017 vis-a-vis the same month last year,” mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said.
There was a marginal drop in non-coking coal imports in January 2017 compared with December 2016 as non-power sector consumers stopped restocking the material after steam coal prices reversed its declining trend midway through January, Varma said.
“In fact, spot steam coal prices firmed up by around eight-nine per cent in South Africa, and also rose marginally in Indonesia during the month,” Varma added.
