Thanks to high demand from steel mills, the coking coal and coke markets in China are operating smoothly without any obvious price change. However, affected by depressed financial markets, coke futures for January 2012 at Dalian Commodity Exchange have continued to decrease, with prices closing at RMB 2,038/mt ($320/mt), down $15.5/mt week on week.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
Specification |
Place of origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
Second grade |
Hancheng,Shaanxi |
1,800 |
283 |
0 |
0.0 |
Zibo, Shandong |
2,000 |
314 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Pingdingshan, Henan |
2,000 |
314 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Shanghai |
2,060 |
323 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Huaibei, Anhui |
1,980 |
311 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Average |
1,968 |
309 |
0 |
0.0 |
As of September 30, Chinese second grade metallurgical coke spot price remains unchanged, at $309/mt.
Currently, mills' coke inventories stand at moderate levels, though inventories in eastern, northern and central regions are at lower levels. Although the steel market continues to soften, coke sales are relatively stable. There is stable demand from mills and independent coking enterprises are operating at low inventory levels, which may provide support for coke prices. In view of the softness of the steel market, it is hard for coke prices in China to rise. It is expected that coke prices in China will remain unchanged next week.