During the week ending March 28, metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued their downward trend, with significant decreases seen in Shaanxi Province. As of March 28, coke futures contract (1409) offers at Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at RMB 1,167/mt ($200/mt), up $9/mt week on week. Local coke prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Sentiment is downbeat in the Chinese domestic metallurgical coke market. Slight declines in prices have been witnessed in the past week, with significant price drops seen in Hancheng in Shaanxi Province. Meanwhile, the trend of domestic coking coal prices has remained weak, negatively impacting coke prices in China. Currently, coke prices in the Chinese domestic market are lower than the lowest levels recorded last year. As most Chinese coking enterprises have been incurring losses, they are expected to reduce their production in the coming period. However, time will still be required to consume high inventories of coke, which will continue to exert downward pressure on coke prices. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will remain on a downward trend in the coming week.