The global energy situation is again tense, with many European countries worried about Russia cutting off their gas supplies and starting to talk about restarting coal use, such as thermal power. Coal buyers from various countries began to purchase coal; according to cording to the latest data from S&P, China is the largest coal importer in the world.
And at this time, according to sources, Russian coal traders such as Suek AG, KTK, and Carbo One are discounting coal wildly in the offshore market, with prices 25-30% cheaper, as a way to attract steam coal buyers such as utilities and cement manufacturers’ thermal coal buyers buy thermal coal from Russia in large quantities.
India is the largest importer of coal from Russia, with Indian coal buyers buying an average of $16.55 million per day from Russia in the three weeks ended last Wednesday, more than double the average daily coal purchases ($7.71 million) in the three months since the start of the conflict in Russia’s Ukraine.
Since the conflict in
Russia and Ukraine, Europe and the United States have had several sanctions on Russia, including a ban on Russian coal and Russian oil imports.
Even so, India’s largest coal importer is still buying coal and energy from Russia on the grounds of securing supply diversification, arguing that stopping purchases of Russian products would drive up global energy prices and hurt consumers.
The United States previously warned India that while it was not prohibited from buying Russian coal, it wanted to refrain from accelerateimmoralopurchases of coal. But India answered with action: Indian coal buyers are not only buying fast, but coal importers are accelerating their coal purchases.
According to foreign media calculations, in the 2that 0 days ended last Wednesday, the volume of coal and related products purchased by Indian coal importers increased more than six times compared to the previous year, reaching $331.17 million. Meanwhile, India’s oil trade with Russia also raised more than 31yearlyon years to $2.22 billion in the 20 days, and its average daily consumption reached $108.6 million, more than three times the average daily purchase amount in the past three months.
A source revealed that Russian traders have been liberal in their payments, accepting Indian rupees and UAE dirhams. And discounts are attractive, and the trend of increased Russian coal purchases will continue.
Another source said that Suek’s subsidiary in Singapore also accepts payments in US dollars.
Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data shows that Indian coal buyers will continue to buy Russian coal in large quantities, with coal imports expected to hit a seven-year high in June.
Sanctions also discounted
In April, the European Union gave its fifth round of sanctions against Russia, which included coal. From April 8, the EU banned coal importers from importing Russian coal, and all new contracts were banned while existing coal contracts will be terminated from the second week of August this year.
At the end of May, the EU issued the sixth round of sanctions, banning EU companies from importing Russian oil shipped by sea but retaining pipeline shipments.
Under both bans, India’s behavior, while overly arrogant, has brought it vast amounts of wealth. According to sources, much of the Russian crude refined in India has found its way to the U.S. market, and India, as a middleman, has made a fortune from first-hand sales.
India has even started eyeing insurance to ensure its trade with Russia is not affected.
The European Union previously said it would ban the European insurance industry from providing shipping insurance for ships carrying Russian oil. This move has also been speculated that it may be extended to other Russian products and has already created a lot of pressure in the insurance industry.
And today, an Indian.
a Media report said that the Indian insurance industry had created a pool of funds (about $6.4 million) to provide insurance for fertilizer imports from Russia and Belarus. A senior industry official said that European and U.S. reinsurers are no longer willing to provide reinsurance support for imports from those two countries. India needs to import large amounts of fertilizer from Russia and Belarus and needs insurance to share the risk.
Of course, it is conceivable that India may also set up insurance to ensure that shipments of Russian oil and other products are not restricted; after all, Russia has now become India’s second-largest trading partner.
The seemingly harsh European and U.S. sanctions are being heavily discounted, not only not deterring India from picking up the slack but also unlikely to cut off India’s trade with Russia in the future. In this way, only the sanctioned party is in a difficult situation; it not only can not go away from hyperinflation but also can not return to low emissions.