Coal prices may soften in the coming months, bringing respite to steel, cement and power companies. The market expectation is that coking coal price will depreciate by $30-$40 per tonne, while the price of thermal coal will decrease by $10 per tonne. A drop in global commodity prices and softening of crude oil, coupled with sluggish demand from Japan are likely to have a cooling effect on coal prices. Australian coking coal futures is hovering around $330 per tonne and the spot price is $320.
India imports around 92 million tonne coal annually. Of this, the country imports 28 million coking coal and the rest 64 million tonne is thermal coking coal. India produces around 4 million tonne coking coal annually. In fact, the Planning Commission has forecast coal shortage in India will soar to 200 million tonne by the end of the 12th Plan (2012-17), with a demand of 1,000 million tonne against a production of 800 million tonne. Next year, the shortage is expected to be around 142 million tonne with availability of 554 million tonne and against a requirement of 696 million tonne. According to market dynamics, this will put a pressure on coking coal suppliers to bring down prices. A correction in price is imminent. It has gone up from $225 per tonne to $330 per tonne over a period of six months.
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: