CIL's e-auction premium slumps to 36% in May even as supply contracts

New Delhi: Coal India Limited's (CIL) e-auction premium over notified price fell sharply to 36 percent in May 2026 from 51 percent in April, even as the state-run miner reduced the volume of coal it offered through the Single Window Mode Agnostic (SWMA) mechanism. A drop in offered volumes would ordinarily be expected to support allocation rates, but May's data shows the reverse: both supply and demand contracted in tandem, with the allocation rate falling further to 33 percent from April's 39 percent.

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CIL and its subsidiaries offered 257.42 lakh tonnes in May, down from 305.51 lakh tonnes in April. Allocation fell to 84.20 lakh tonnes in May — a 33 percent offtake rate — against 117.74 lakh tonnes allocated in April at 39 percent. For the two-month period April-May FY2026-27, CIL offered 562.93 lakh tonnes and allocated 201.94 lakh tonnes, a cumulative allocation rate of 36 percent at a weighted average premium of 45 percent.

Premium in structural decline

The May figure extends a multi-year downtrend in CIL's e-auction premium realisations. Premiums peaked at 252 percent in FY2022-23, before dropping to 72 percent in FY2023-24 and 38 percent across FY2025-26. April's 51 percent had briefly raised expectations of a FY27 recovery, but May's 36 percent — barely above the FY26 full-year average — reasserts the downward pressure. The softening is widely attributed to rising coal availability from commercial and captive mines, which has progressively eroded CIL's pricing power on the e-auction route.

MCL leads supply, lags on offtake

Among subsidiaries, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) was the largest contributor to May's offered volume at 109.86 lakh tonnes, but recorded one of the lowest allocation rates at just 19 percent, with only 20.49 lakh tonnes allocated at a premium of 33 percent. For the April-May period, MCL offered 204.44 lakh tonnes and allocated 42.09 lakh tonnes, an allocation rate of 21 percent.

SECL delivered the strongest performance among large subsidiaries, allocating 29.75 lakh tonnes out of 38.91 lakh tonnes offered in May — a 76 percent allocation rate at a 44 percent premium. For the two-month period, SECL allocated 74.43 lakh tonnes out of 95.72 lakh tonnes offered, at a 78 percent rate and a premium of 58 percent.

NCL commands outlier premium

Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) stands sharply apart from the broader softening trend. The subsidiary achieved 100 percent allocation in May — all 4.11 lakh tonnes offered were taken up — at a premium of 104 percent over notified price, the highest among all subsidiaries. For the April-May period, NCL maintained full allocation at a 91 percent premium. Peers such as ECL (14 percent allocation) and BCCL (8 percent allocation) struggled to move even a fraction of their offered volumes.

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What SWMA e-auction is

Coal India’s SWMA (Single Window Mode Agnostic) e-auction is an online coal sale mechanism designed to offer a unified and transparent platform for buyers. This single window mode agnostic e-auction caters to all the sectors, like power & Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) and traders.

The framework is based on guidelines issued by the Ministry of Coal and aims to simplify participation while improving access to coal across sectors through a centralised digital interface.

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