During the week ending November 20, import quotations for premium hard coking coal and hard coking coal from different countries - Canada, in particular - have increased rapidly for China amid the shortage in the Chinese market due to the ban on Australian coal. At the same time, indicative price levels for coal from Australia have kept moving down.
The latest deal for premium hard coking coal from Canada has been reported at $162/mt CFR China, up by $9/mt compared to the previous week. Quotations of hard coking coal from Russia are at $130/mt CFR, up $8/mt week on week.
At the same time, the price equivalent for premium hard coking coal from Australia is at $108/mt CFR China, down $3/mt on week, while the FOB price level has dropped below $100/mt FOB - $99/mt FOB for the premium material in the latest deal. Hard coking coal prices from Australia are at $97/mt CFR China, according to assessments by market sources, down $5/mt compared to the previous week.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,150/mt ($327/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 50/mt ($7.6/mt) compared to the previous week, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, Chinese coking plants’ capacity utilization rates have decreased amid the production halts due to environmental protection checks, while inventories of coke have been at low levels, bolstering coke prices. Meanwhile, Chinese steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates have been at high levels, boosting the demand for coke and exerting a positive impact on the coke market. It is expected that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move up further in the coming week.
As of Friday, November 20, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,480.5/mt ($377/mt), increasing by RMB 61.5/mt ($9.3/mt) or 2.54 percent compared to November 13.
$1 = RMB 6.5786
