Report: India to step up coking coal shipments from Russia

MOSCOW, Nov 28 (PRIME) -- India will step up imports of coking coal, a key material in steel manufacturing, from Russia, as cargoes from top supplier Australia drop and steel mills struggle with rising prices, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing three government sources and an industry executive.

Steel mills in India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, have struggled with patchy supplies of coking coal from Australia, which normally accounts for more than half of India's annual imports of around 70 million tonnes.

Discounts and rupee payments have helped (Indian) companies to look at Russia as an alternative source," said one of the government sources who is familiar with the matter.

India's government-backed steel manufacturers Steel Authority of India and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. have opted for rupee settlement for Russian coking coal, the sources said.

"The (rupee) currency is an enabling factor for these companies," said another government source.

Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. and the federal steel ministry did not respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Steel Authority of India is expecting four shipments of 75,000 tonnes of Russian coking coal each for the quarter ending December, its chairman has said.

In September, Russia's top lenders Sberbank and VTB said they were improving their ability to convert rupees into rubles, helping exporters to get access to funds effectively trapped in India. The rupee is not fully convertible.

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