Coal imports rise 2% to 18.6 MT in August

Coal imports have increased marginally by two per cent to 18.6 million tonnes (MT) in August 2015 compared to the same month of the previous year.
"India's coal imports...Rose 2 per cent to 18.60 million tonnes in August 2015 (Provisional) from 18.24 MT in August 2014 (Revised)," CEO and MD of mjunction services Viresh Oberoi said in an e-mail reply.
There is a marginal two per cent rise "because of increased availability of domestic coal as well as less demand during monsoon," Oberoi said.
Mjunction services, an e-auction joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL, is major online marketplace for steel and coal.

However, coal imports declined 11 per cent to 19.30 MT in July 2015 compared to the same month of previous year.
Coal India (CIL) accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production.
Commenting on the outlook, Oberoi had earlier said,"we believe coal imports, all categories, will remain same as the previous financial year and we are looking at around 240 million tonnes for 2015-16.