Coal import dips to 14% due to coronavirus

A provisional compilation by mjunction services revealed that in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, India’s coal imports registered a decline of 14.1% to 17.01 million tonnes (MT) in February. Of this, non-coking coal was at 12.25 MT, against 12.38 MT imported in January 2020; while coking coal imports were at 3.15 MT in February 2020, down from 3.95 MT imported a month ago. The B2B e-commerce company data showed that during the same period last year, India’s coal imports in stood at 19.82 MT.

“In line with expectations, coal import volumes staged a decline during the month of February due to increased domestic availability, volatility in non-coking coal prices as well as uncertainty arising from…coronavirus epidemic,” mjunction MD and CEO Vinaya Varma observed. He also held that in the future, prices may see a downward bias, while demand for import may remain subdued.