India's coal imports saw a decline of 4.2%, totalling 148.13 Million Tonnes (MT) during the April-October duration of the current financial year, compared to 154.72 MT recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Data from mjunction services ltd, a B2B e-commerce company, revealed that non-coking coal imports stood at 94.53 MT in the April-October period, indicating a decrease from 104.41 MT imported in the same period the previous year. Conversely, coking coal imports showed a slight uptick, reaching 33.74 MT during the initial seven months of the ongoing financial year, slightly higher than the 32.74 MT recorded in the preceding year's same period.

For the month of October, imports surged to approximately 23.59 MT from 19.04 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Notably, non-coking coal imports spiked to 16.88 MT compared to 11.69 MT in October the previous year. Meanwhile, coking coal imports in October were reported at 4.31 MT, slightly lower than the 4.69 MT imported during the same month of the previous financial year.

Vinaya Varma, MD & CEO of mjunction, attributed the surge in October's import volumes to buyers taking fresh positions. This rise coincided with the issuance of several utility tenders, coupled with lower inventories at plants, and the government's directive on imports for blends.