India's thermal coke imports fell for the sixth consecutive month in February
Ship tracking data shows that India's thermal coal imports, which are mainly used for power generation, fell in February for the sixth consecutive month. This is because coal-fired electricity generation increased at a slower pace due to a slowdown of manufacturing.
It is the longest streak of decline since February 2022 when imports fell for eight consecutive monthly.
The manufacturing activity in the fastest-growing major economy in the world slowed down to its lowest pace in more than a year. This slowed the appetite for seaborne coking coal in the country, and added to the pressure on the global thermal coal price decline.
Bigmint, an Indian consultancy, reported that India's thermal coal imports fell 15.3% in February to 12.16 millions metric tons. The imports of thermal coal by India fell by 20% in the six months ending February 28.
The decrease in imports was also due to a slowdown in manufacturing, as well as an increase in domestic production, and a greater share of renewable energy generation. In the first two month of the year, the coal-fired electricity generation remained largely unchanged.
Although coal consumption will increase in the next few months, as utilities prepare for a spike in electricity demand during the summer months of April to June, this might not lead to an increase in imports because domestic production is increasing.
The summer months will see a strong demand for coal. The non-power sector continues to face sluggish conditions, according to a Monday note from India-based coal-trading firm I-Energy.
The price of thermal coal has risen slightly over the past few weeks, after plummeting to multi-year levels in 2025 due to market fears about a weakening global demand. They are still over 30% above levels seen in second half of previous decade.
Analysts and industry officials have warned of potential risks for the months to come. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Sudarshan Varadhan)
(source: Reuters)
