Coal prices to remain subdued this fiscal amid weak demand, high inventory

Coal prices are expected to remain subdued to weak demand and high inventory levels. While the non-coking coal import prices have shown signs of recovery as the power demand picked up over May 2020, the coking coal import price is yet to catch up because steel sector demand remains subdued.

Non-coking coal import prices in July declined by about 40 per cent from mid-January (pre-Covid levels) and the coking coal import prices have had fallen by about 25 per cent. Considering the nature of the respective end-user industries, the non-coking coal import prices are likely to pick up gradually while coking coal prices may still take a while to recover, said a India Ratings report.