During the week ending September 23, average metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to indicate an upward trend, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at decent levels. As of September 23, coke futures contract (1701) offers at Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at RMB 1,247.5/mt ($187/mt), up $9/mt week on week. Average coke prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, domestic steelmakers have stepped up their purchases of coke in order to replenish their stocks, providing support for the upward movement of coke prices. Meanwhile, coke inventories at domestic coking plants have been on the short side and this has also provided support for coke prices. At present, tight restrictions are in place to prevent overloading during road transportation, causing a shortage of supply and contributing to improved sentiment in the coke market. It is expected that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will continue their rising trend in the coming week.
| Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| Coke | Second grade | Hancheng, Shaanxi | 1,200 | 180 | ↑50 |
| Zibo, Shandong | 1,390 | 208 | ↑50 | ||
| Pingdingshan, Henan | 1,370 | 205 | ↑70 | ||
| Tangshan | 1,420 | 213 | ↑70 | ||
| Huaibei, Anhui | 1,350 | 202 | ↑50 | ||
| Average | 1,346 | 202 | ↑58 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.67