Coal imports surge by 19 per cent in Sept on weak prices, low stocks

The country's coal imports surged 19 per cent to 16 million tonnes in September from a year ago as fuel-hungry power companies bought coal at lower international prices to bring in much-needed supplies, according to preliminary data from online trader mjunction.

As of September 29, more than half of the country's power plants had only enough coal to run uninterrupted for less than a week, the worst stock level since a crippling blackout in 2012, due to lower output from state-owned Coal India (CIL).

Coal stocks have also been drawn down because the government has asked coal-fired plants to produce more electricity as hydro-electric power has dropped in the past three months due to weak monsoon rains.

"Imports rose mainly due to continued softness in international coal prices, coming up of new plants and slightly lower availability of domestic coal," said Viresh Oberoi, chief executive of mjunction, a joint venture of Tata Steel and the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

The average price of coal from Indonesia and South Africa fell by 6-9 per cent in September from a year earlier, Oberoi said.

The country's thermal coal imports, used mainly to generate power, rose to 12.95 million tonnes in September from 10.05 million a year earlier.

Imports of coking coal, used in making steel, fell slightly to 2.53 million, said mjunction, whose data is based on the monitoring of vessel positions and figures from shipping firms.

The government does not regularly release coal import data. However, according to mjunction, total inbound coal shipments were 16.12 million tonnes in August.

The inability of Coal India - which accounts for 80 per cent of the country's coal output - to raise production fast enough so as to keep up with demand has made the country the third-largest coal importer despite sitting on the fifth-largest reserves.

(Reuters)