Asian Coal Prices

India's coal import rose by 13 per cent to 21.64 million tonnes (MT) in February as some buyers took fresh positions to replenish stocks ahead of summer, according to online marketplace mjunction. The country's coal import was 19.15 MT in the corresponding month of FY23. "Coal imports in February 2024 were up by 13 per cent as against 19.15 MT in February 2023," as per the data compiled by mjunction. Of the total import in February, non-coking coal import increased to 13.77 MT compared to 11.68 MT imported in the year-ago period. "Coking coal volume was 4.56 MT, against 4.40 MT imported in February 2023," it said. The country's coal import also went up to 244.27 MT in the April-February period of FY24 over 227.93 MT in the year-ago period, the online marketplace said. During the April-February period of FY24, non-coking coal import was at 160.63 MT, higher than 148.58 MT imported in the same period of FY23. Coking coal import was at 51.87 MT during the April-February period of F

The production of coking coal by Coal India Ltd (CIL) rose by 17.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 54.6 million tonnes (MT) in 2022-23. The state-owned miner had produced 46.6 MT coking coal during the preceding 2021-22 fiscal, it said in a statement. "The quantum leap was a whopping 8 MT. This assumes significance at a time when the Ministry of Coal has asked CIL to elevate the output of this category of coal to 105 MT by 2030 in a bid to reduce its imports and forex outgo," it said Subsidiary companies Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) and Central Coal Fields (CCL) together accounted for almost the entire output of 54.3 MT in 2022-23. While BCCL produced nearly 33.7 MT during FY23, CCL contributed 20.6 MT. Coking coal is an important feedstock in steel making. In India, its mineable reserves are scarce and also its quality inadequacy for direct use in steel making necessitates washing. During FY23 coking coal imports were to the tune of 56 MT, down by 1.1 MT compared to 57.1 MT in

Many global and regional banks have toughened their stance on lending for coal mining, reflecting concerns about climate change and, in some cases, pressure from environmental groups