India's coal imports rebounded to over 20 million tonnes in October 2025, posting both year-on-year (YoY) and month-on-month (MoM) growth, with the latter exceeding 15%.

The country imported 20.8 million tonnes of the fuel in October, rising 4.69% from 19.86 million tonnes in the same month last year and 15.77% from 17.96 million tonnes in September, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

India's sponge iron production and construction activities picked up as the monsoon season ended and adverse weather conditions subsided. This triggered a rapid recovery in cement production and increased demand for coal in October. Meanwhile, India's cement sector planned to reduce its reliance on petroleum coke, shifting some demand toward imported coal, particularly from the U.S.

Although India's coal production extended the upward trajectory in October, it still represented a significant YoY drop. The country produced 77.43 million tonnes of coal, marking a 13.57% increase from September, but a decline of 8.33% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Coal. The combination of falling domestic production and robust industrial demand led to a notable rise in coal imports.

However, India's power demand recovery remained sluggish in October. Strong hydropower generation, fueled by abundant rainfall, tempered coal demand in the power sector. Elevated coal stocks at power plants also curbed import demand.

Abnormal rainfall and lower-than-usual temperatures reduced cooling demand, leading to a 5.2% YoY drop in India's power demand in October, with peak demand falling from the year-ago 219 GW to 210 GW.

Month-end coal stocks at utilities reached 47.61 million tonnes, up 34.9% YoY and 3.86% MoM, enough for 15.7 days' consumption, far higher than 12.1 days a year ago, data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed.

Coal imports amounted to $2.17 billion in October, decreasing 3.32% YoY while climbing 16.15% MoM. This put the average coal import price at $104.29/t, declining 7.66% YoY yet ticking up 0.33% MoM.

Over January-October, India imported 210 million tonnes of coal, 1.69% lower than the year-ago 214 million tonnes, narrowing by 0.65 percentage point compared with the first nine months.

The import was worth $22.46 billion, down 19.96% YoY. The average import price was calculated at $106.88/t in the first ten months, falling 18.59% YoY.

In breakdown by coal type, India imported 14.94 million tonnes of thermal coal in October, down 3.57% YoY but gaining 14.75% MoM, accounting for 71.86% of the total coal imports.

Coking coal imports stood at 5.72 million tonnes, jumping 38.75% YoY and 17.95% MoM, making up 27.53% of the total. The imports of anthracite were 128,400 tonnes, plunging 47.04% YoY and 45.88% MoM.

By origin, the top five sources in October were Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, the U.S., and Russia, accounting for a combined 86.71% of the total coal imports, marginally higher than 86.23% in September.

India imported the most coal from Indonesia at 8.37 million tonnes in October, down 3.96% YoY but up 14.08% MoM. That accounted for 40.23% of India's total coal imports, slightly lower than September's 40.82%. Coal imports from South Africa amounted to 3.12 million tonnes, rising 11.66% YoY and surging 73.02% MoM, which grabbed a share of 15%.

The nation imported 2.37 million tonnes of coal from Australia in the same month, sinking 11.89% YoY and 19.97% MoM, taking up 11.39% of total coal imports. The intakes from the U.S. came in at 2.15 million tonnes, soaring 47.76% YoY and 94.76% MoM. Coal imports from Russia stood at 2.02 million tonnes, up 7.75% YoY yet down 8.11% MoM.

Additionally, India imported 339,800 tonnes of coke in October, dropping 10.22% YoY but hiking 36.5% MoM. The imports amounted to $86.04 million, down 22.04% YoY but surging 65.62% MoM. Over the first ten months, coke imports in India totaled 3.26 million tonnes, falling 18.61% YoY, with value down 32.25% to $877 million.

Although seaborne thermal coal prices have rebounded significantly from mid-year lows, they remained cost-effective, supporting Indian buyers' interest in inquiries.

Additionally, Indian major cement producers planned to lower petroleum coke usage in the fuel mix in the coming quarters, which is expected to further boost demand for imported coal, particularly mid-to-high-sulfur grades from the U.S.