India: BigMint’s coking coal index falls close to four month low, further drop likely

• • Index fell by $7/t w-o-w

• • India’s coking coal imports have fallen by 25% m-o-m in Jun’26

BigMint’s premium hard coking coal (PHCC) index was assessed at $243/tonne (t) CNF Paradip, India, on 24 July 2026, down by $7/t w-o-w. The index is seen heading to four month low as level of $240/t CNF India was seen in early Mar’26, as per data maintained with BigMint.

“Market is weak. Lot of unsold cargoes lying at port. FoB Australia price indications have fallen from $224/t seen towards the beginning of the week to $220-222/t FoB levels towards the weekend”, cited a source from Indian steel mill.

India’s coking coal imports decreased 25% m-o-m to 5.6 mnt in Jun’26 from 7.5 mnt in May’26. May numbers had shot up on arrival of previously booked cargoes. Australia remained the largest supplier in Jun’26 at 3 mnt followed by Russia and US.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), one of the leading coking coal importers has announced an e-auction for 150,000 t of imported coking coal through MSTC on 25 July. The catalogue comprises two premium washed coking coal grades — Goonyella Coking Coal and Brooks Run high-volatile coking coal with 75,000 t allocated to each grade. The cargoes will be offered on an ex-Gangavaram and ex-Visakhapatnam ports basis. Although queries shared with official remained unanswered, sources opined that possibly due to cargo contamination or shift in interest towards met coke procurement.

BigMint has consolidated its PHCC CFR India Index to include material of all origins, including US, Canada, Mozambique, Australia — normalised for quality and freight. With India steadily reducing its reliance on Australian PHCC and increasing imports from alternative sources, this update ensures the index accurately reflects evolving market dynamics and trade flows.

Factors influencing prices:

Indian domestic met coke prices range-bound on weak demand – India’s met coke market remained largely stable during the assessment week ended 23 July 2026, as subdued domestic steel demand, muted spot transactions, and continued uncertainty over the extension of the anti-dumping duty on imported metallurgical coke kept both buyers and sellers on the sidelines. Domestic BF-grade metallurgical coke prices remained unchanged across key markets, with eastern India holding at INR 35,150/t ex-Jajpur and western India at INR 34,000/t ex-Gandhidham. Foundry-grade coke also remained stable at around INR 36,400/t ex-Rajkot, supported by relatively resilient demand from foundry units.

Indian HRC prices soften w-o-w as weak demand, tight liquidity weigh on trade – India’s hot-rolled coil (HRC) market remained subdued during the week ended 21 July 2026, as weak downstream demand and persistent liquidity constraints continued to suppress trading activity. Trade-level HRC offers were reported at INR 54,900-58,500/t ($570-607/t), while buyers largely restricted purchases to immediate requirements amid limited order inflows and cautious market sentiment.

Australia-India vessel freights inch up w-o-w- The Baltic Exchange’s Dry Bulk Index (BDI) rose 0.4% (10 points) d-o-d to 2,725 on 23 July 2026, extending the previous session’s gains as stronger Capesize earnings, supported by improving iron ore and coal demand, offset continued weakness in the Panamax and Supramax segments.Panamax vessel freight assessment of BigMint from Haypoint, Australia to Paradip, India was recorded at $21.2/t, up $0.3 w-o-w.

Outlook:

Market expects prices to drop further in the coming week on slower buying, fall in steel prices and less aggressive buying from China.