SAIL wants to increase coking coal purchases from Russia

New Delhi: Steel Authority of India wants to increase coking coal purchases from Russia due to cheaper prices and is expecting four shipments, each with a capacity of 75,000 tons, in the quarter ending December, chairman Amarendu Prakash said on Monday.

Coking coal, a key raw material in steelmaking, is in short supply and Russian coking coal is cheaper compared with the ones from Australia, Prakash told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

Australia accounts for more than half of India's coking coal imports of around 70 million metric tons a year. India also imports coking coal from Russia and the United States.

Since April, SAIL, the country's largest state-owned steel producer, had eight shipments from Russia.

Indian steel companies are planning to raise prices of various grades of steel due to rising import costs of coking coal, Reuters reported last month.

However, subdued global markets may offset pressure on domestic steel prices, Prakash added.