India Nov domestic petcoke offers mostly steady amid slower demand

Indian petcoke producers' offers for November were mostly steady, as demand from the cement industry remained slow due to subdued construction activity. Market sources anticipate a recovery in demand following the conclusion of the festive season, as laborers return from holidays.

Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy Ltd. maintained their offers for November from a month earlier, while Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd., a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corp., lowered its offer levels for the month, according to company sources and market participants.

RIL’s offer for November was unchanged on the month at Rupee 11,637/mt ($138/mt), showed a company email sent to traders and seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Nayara's November petcoke offer was steady from October at Rupee 12,037/mt ($143/mt), a company source said.

CPCL reduced its offer for the month by Rupee 500/mt to 12,040/mt ($143/mt), according to a company email sent to traders and seen by Commodity Insights.

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed the CFR India 6.5% sulfur content petcoke price at an average of $93.3/mt in October, lower than the previous month’s average of $102.25/mt, due to a fall in freight rates and sluggish demand from the cement industry. Extended monsoon in some areas of the country delayed construction activities and decreased the demand for petcoke, resulting in ample stocks even in October and putting downward pressure on both domestic and imported petcoke prices.

Platts assessed the Supramax freight rate between Houston and Krishnapatnam at an average of $42.65/mt in October, down from $44.15/mt in September.

Platts assessed CFR India 6.5% sulfur content US-origin petcoke at $93/mt on Oct. 30, up 50 cents/mt on the week. The CFR India price rose for the first time in over two months during the week as freight rates strengthened. Platts assessed the Supramax freight rate between Houston and Krishnapatnam at $43.75/mt on Oct. 29, rising $1.25 from Oct. 22.

While construction activities are anticipated to ramp up, enabling projects to progress at full capacity, some market participants are concerned that upcoming elections in certain states in November could hinder construction efforts.