A second round of coke price increases was proposed early this week in the local market in China and steel mills have accepted it. Together with the hike in local coking coal prices after a number of accidents at mines in China, the latest rise in local coke prices has resulted also in a strong rise in coke export prices from China.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,420/mt ($337/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 110/mt ($15/mt) compared to last week, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
(Updated on Sept 28 2023)
Product Name |
Specification |
Place of Origin |
Price (RMB/mt） |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly Change（RMB/mt） |
Weekly Change（$/mt） |
Coke |
First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） |
Hancheng, Shaanxi |
2,380 |
331.5 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
Zibo, Shandong |
2,570 |
357.9 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
||
Pingdingshan, Henan |
2,420 |
337.0 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
||
Tangshan |
2,420 |
337.0 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
||
Huaibei, Anhui |
2,470 |
344.0 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
||
Average |
2,452 |
341.5 |
+110.0 |
+15.0 |
The price hike in the local coke market has followed a further tightening of supply and a rise in coking coal prices in China. On September 24, there was a large fatal accident at the Shanjiaoshu coal mine in Guizhou Province, after which production at the mine was stopped. Accordingly, government inspections of mines will continue and even be more severe, resulting in lower supply of coal in the local market. At the same time, demand for coke in China has remained steady, which has also supported price rises.
On September 28, the tradable prices of coke CSR65 in the export market have risen to $345-350/mt FOB, up by $15.5/mt over the past week, and some offers have already been reported at as high as $360/mt FOB.
As a result, the import coking coal market in China has also received a boost. A deal for ex-US Blue Creak 7 has been rumored at $310/mt CFR in the past week, while last week the tradable level was assessed at $270-275/mt CFR. Also, ex-Russia premium coking coal prices have been assessed at a minimum of $240/mt CFR, though not many firm offers have been reported in the market. Ex-Russia PCI was traded at $173/mt CFR early this week.
$1 = RMB 7.1798