During the week ending December 16, metallurgical coke prices in most regions of China have remained stable, while activity in the domestic coke market has seen some improvements. Meanwhile, the main coke futures contract price at Dalian Commodity Exchange has dropped by $3/mt week on week, with the price closing at RMB 1,969/mt ($311/mt).
As of December 16, the average spot price of second grade coke in China stood at $306/mt, unchanged week on week. Coke prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the past week, domestic steel mills in the city of Jiexiu in Shanxi Province slightly reduced their coke purchase prices, bringing them into line with coke purchase prices in other regions of China. At present, mills in the eastern and southern regions have started to increase their inventories to some extent, while even mills in the northern region, where the cold weather conditions have been impacting business, have also placed some orders. Accordingly, trading activity in the Chinese coke market has improved somewhat. Supported by this increase in activity, mainstream prices of coke in China are expected to continue their stable trend in the coming week.