Coal prices have continued to move on a steadily rising trend in the Chinese domestic market, though recent price decreases in the steel markets have started to raise the concerns of local coal suppliers. Irrespective of the continuous increases in domestic coking coal prices, Chinese steel mills are increasingly reluctant to book tonnages of coking coal at the current time.
As one market insider put it, the softening in the steel market has not yet been reflected in the local coal market, but is likely to make its impact felt soon.
The overcapacity issue still exists in the Chinese coal industry. In the view of many players in the industry, to solve the problem in question the pace of elimination of outdated capacities needs to be accelerated.