Coal India Ltd. (CIL) may need to review the prices of two of its top grades of coal following a softening of international prices.
“A close watch is being kept on the international prices of steam coal, especially those mined in South Africa and Australia with a gross calorific value of around 5800. Over the last few months, this price has softened, thus making imports cheaper”, a CIL source said.
It may be mentioned that, in February 2011,CIL had rolled out a dual pricing policy whereby prices of its two top grades of coal were priced higher for the non regulated consumer sector.
This policy was received well , despite the price hike, as it was cheaper than international coal. However, of late, a resistance was noticed among consumers in buying this coal. Admitting this, CIL sources said: “It is still cheaper than imported coal but we are keeping a close watch and will take a call on reducing prices of these two grades if international prices fall further.”
