Delhi coal imports to fall

INDIA’S thermal coal imports from Russia are expected to fall for the first time in four months in September, two research consultancies said, potentially resulting in lower revenues for Moscow at a time that it is mobilising more troops to fight its war in Ukraine.

Indian consultancy Coalmint expects September thermal coal imports from Russia to decline 30 per cent from August to 1.4 million tonnes, it said in a note.

London-based analytics firm DBX Commodities estimates Indian shipments of the power generation fuel to fall to 1.5 million tonnes this

month from 1.9 million tonnes in August, chief executive Alexandre Claude said last Thursday (22).

Energy exports to India and China have been crucial revenue sources to sanctionshit Russia, but have also helped bridge supply gaps and place a lid on surging global fuel prices.

The value of India’s coal imports from Russia since troops marched into Ukraine on February 24 rose to about $2.4 billion (£2.2bn) as of last Wednesday (21), said a source who requested anonymity, citing non-public government data. This is a four-fold increase compared with shipments in the same period last year.