Inventories at Indian power plants fell back to about 8 days’ worth of generation, and in the Northeast part of the country, stocks fell to 4 days’ worth. The fall in inventories occurred a mere month before the arrival of the monsoon.

Coal India output in April fell by 33% from the previous month coupled with insufficient coal train supply. Indian Railways have missed coal train supplies targets throughout the past year and have significantly hampered India power plants stock building.

Indian Power generators’ woes were further compounded by coal prices on international markets that are at or near all-time high in most places, while electricity grid price cap renders those foreign coal uneconomical.

In that context, the fall in Chinese demand for foreign coal represents some solace for Indian buyers, and even occasionally an opportunity, as some Chinese traders have been reported to resell Indonesian coal to Indian buyers.