Coal India output likely to slip 4% in January after months of growth

Coal India's dry fuel production

is likely to snap a five-month growth streak to register a decline in January, owing to high pithead stock, sources said on Sunday.

Coal production for the month is likely to be around 60.2 million tonnes compared with the corresponding period a year ago, when the output was at 63.11 million tonnes, they said.

Till January 29, the output was 56.24 million tonnes, and aggregate production for the 11-month period of the current fiscal (AprilJanuary) will be about 454 million tonnes, the sources said.

Coal India is targeting an output of 630-640 million tonnes till March.

The world's largest miner has been registering robust growth since August 2020, as the nationwide lockdown began to ease, when it recorded a 7.1 per cent on-year rise, followed by September (31 per cent rise), October (18 per cent) and November (3.4 per cent).

Total coal offtake for the Kolkata-headquartered company in the first month of 2021 is expected to be 53.3 million tonnes, resulting in a decline of about 5.5 per cent as against the figure during the same period in 2020.

Coal demand from the power sector is on the rise, but with 63 million-tonne of pithead stock, non-power sector requirement will also be crucial for the mining behemoth.

Demand for the dry fuel is set to revive in 2021 with a 3.8-per cent increase, according to a Moody's Investors Service report.