Watch out for coal prices as a massive cyberattack cripples Australian ports

India's annual imports from Australia amount to about $17 billion, more than 96% of that is coal. On the other hand, India’s exports to Australia are dominated by finished consumer goods, according to India's Press Information Bureau data from January 2023.

ALSO READ: AI powered cybercrime — here're some guidance on how businesses can protect themselves

India is already one of the biggest importers of coking coal, which goes into the production of steel. India imports about 70-75 million tonnes of coking coal, according to data shared by Indian Steel Association (ISA) President Dilip Oommen on Monday (November 6).

However, the coal ministry data shows that India imported 56 million tonnes of coking coal in the financial year ending March 2023, compared to 36 million tonnes in FY14.

Coking coal prices have already gone up by about $100 a tonne in the last six months, that's a rise of nearly 40%, according to SteelMint data. In

Australia is one of India's biggest suppliers of coking coal. Supply disruptions may lead to a spike in the cost of coal for steel makers in India.

Steel prices in India are already down due to falling demand in recent months. Spot prices of hot-rolled coil are down to ₹56,500 per tonne from near ₹75,000 a tonne in May 2022. At that time, the price of coking coal was near ₹600 rupees a tonne, compared to the current price of around ₹350.

India has also seen a rising demand for coal, due to rising demand for power generation, which the domestic producers have not been able to meet. Between April and September 2023, the average monthly shortfall in coal availability was anywhere between 1.8 million tonnes to 8.1 million tonnes, according to RK Singh, the minister for power and renewable energy.