India's coal imports increased in the April-January period

Non-coking coal imports totaled 136.47 MT during this period, slightly lower than the previous year's 136.90 MT, while coking coal imports rose to 47.32 MT from 46.09 MT.

In January, coal imports through major and non-major ports reached 19.81 MT, up from 16.97 MT in the same month of the previous fiscal year. Non-coking coal imports in January were 12.10 MT, compared to 10.01 MT in January of the previous year, while coking coal imports slightly decreased to 4.50 MT from 4.74 MT.

Mjunction Services MD and CEO Vinaya Varma noted a recent weakening in demand for imported coal in India, attributing it to ample availability of domestic coal at mine pitheads and thermal power plants. Government provisional data indicated an increase in coal production to 784.11 MT during the April-January period compared to 698.99 MT in the same period last year.