China’s coke market remains stable though with some signs of weakness

This week has witnessed stability in China's domestic coke market, though there have also been some signs of weakness. Prices in Shanxi Province stand at RMB 1,800 mt ($274/mt), unchanged from last week. Prices in the provinces of Anhui and Henan remain at RMB 1,950-1,980/mt ($297-203/mt). Meanwhile, prices in Shandong Province and Shanghai have softened, with offers in Shanghai at RMB 2,050/mt ($313/ mt), down RMB 50/mt ($7.6/mt) week on week, and offers in Zibo, Shandong at RMB 1,900/mt ($290/mt) dropped by RMB 100/mt ($15.2/mt) week on week.

Coke prices in Chinese domestic market

The gas explosion and leakage in Guizhou Province in March was followed by the shutdown of production of all small local coal mines, and the production operations of large coal mines were limited. Coking coal supply in this area is quite scarce, which limits the production of coking enterprises. The price of coke in Guizhou is expected to remain high. The coke price in Yunnan has dropped by RMB 30/mt ($4.6/mt) this month, just like the price in Sichuan Province. However, the tightness of coking coal supply greatly reduces the possibility of ongoing declines in coke prices. In April, coke prices will remain high in western China, but will be slightly down in some areas.

With coking coal prices at high levels and given the lack of high-quality coking coal, coke prices will not drop significantly. Nevertheless, with steel market lately indicating weakness, the coke market is expected to follow the same trend in the short term.