Bloomberg reported that Hindustan Zinc Limited of India is seeking to import 200,000 tonnes of steam coal between January and February.

The tender said that the company wants to buy coal from South Africa, Colombia or Indonesia.

According to data from IHS McCloskey, the spot price of South African steam coal at Richards Bay port rose 3.7% to a 2 year high of USD 107.11 per tonne for the week ended December 3. The price of the coal has risen 22% since early September.

IHS McCloskey said that steam coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia have gained 17% to USD 109.80 per tonne since early September. The spot price of Colombian steam coal at Puerto Bolivar rose 21% to USD 96 per tonne since early September.

According to data from the nation’s coal ministry, India’s thermal coal imports rose by about 16% to 44 million tonnes in the year ended March 2010 from 38 million tonnes a year earlier.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal coal minister of India said that India needs 440 million tonnes of thermal coal in the year ending March 2011 while domestic availability is about 388 million, resulting in a shortfall of 52 million tonnes.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)