Coal demand to remain sluggish in current fiscal year: mjunction

New Delhi: Coal demand before the festive period was subdued due to an extended monsoon, and the overall demand scenario is likely to remain sluggish in the current fiscal year, according to B2B e-commerce solution provider mjunction services.

From a mid-to-long term perspective, however, coal demand is expected to keep growing, albeit at a slower rate, in view of the strong pipeline of thermal power projects being planned and announced.

According to mjunction services CEO Vinaya Varma, domestic coal market is currently facing a market glut.

“While this market glut may be a temporary phenomenon, we need to balance supply and demand to ensure that investments in coal, especially by new commercial miners, are protected,” he explained. mjunction is the pioneer of coal e-auctions in India. It has sold 844 MT of coal in last 25 years on its platforms. The high double-digit growth in captive and commercial coal production helped the country achieve the coveted milestone of one billion tonne last year. However, during the current fiscal, the growth in demand has not been commensurate with the increased supply.

Much alike captive and commercial coal, the renewables sector has finally started showing an uptick in recent months. In contrast, coal-based generation has started showing negative growth.

In fact, till August 2025, the country’s coal-based power generation was down by 5.4 per cent over the year-ago period. So were its coal demand and despatch, the CEO of mjunction Services Ltd, a joint venture of Tata Steel and SAIL, said.

On the import front, the continued softness in seaborne coal prices has led to persistent demand for imported materials.

Both these factors have resulted in high coal stock in the system, standing at around 150 MT as of now. Liquidation of pithead stock has become a concern for the miners, while the importers and traders are burdened with inventories at various ports, he explained.