Over the past week China's domestic coke market continued its ascending movement against the background of the ongoing rise of the finished steel market. Since coke demand in the domestic market has been boosted by the increasing production levels of crude steel, market prices of coke have been climbing up steadily. Meanwhile, still characterized by tight supply, coking coal prices have also maintained a rising trend in recent days.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Average price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Coke | 2nd grade | Shanxi | 1,710 | 80 | 250 | 12 |
Shanghai | 1,800 | - | 264 | - |
The Chinese coke market has continued its uptrend throughout the past week. At present, the mainstream quotations of second grade coke from large producers in Shanxi Province are up by RMB 80/mt ($12/mt) or so to the range of RMB 1,700-1,750/mt ($249-256/mt), while Hebei Province-based mills have raised their purchase prices by RMB 50/mt ($7/mt) to the level of RMB 1,750/mt ($256/mt) for second grade coke. Meanwhile, coke prices in Pingdingshan, Henan Province are at RMB 1,650/mt ($242/mt), with the mainstream prices in the eastern coke market climbing to RMB 1,800-1,850/mt ($264-271/mt), an increase of RMB 50/mt ($7/mt) week on week. In addition, the mainstream prices of coking coal in the domestic market are now in the range of RMB 1,200-1,300/mt ($176-190/mt).
The Chinese finished steel market has now been on the rise for 14 consecutive weeks. With an obvious jump seen in the long products market, prices of construction steel in Shanghai have reached RMB 3,880/mt ($568/mt), while HRC is now offered at RMB 3,900/mt ($571/mt) in the Shanghai market, both up by 20 percent or so from the low levels in April. Profit margins have increased significantly for Chinese mills, and steel production has recently seen a strong rise, giving impetus to the upward trend of coke prices. As a result, coking enterprises in various regions have hiked their ex-factory prices considerably.
Additionally, it is heard that due to the continuing high costs of raw materials and the resulting slim profit margins, Shanxi-based coking enterprises intend to increase their prices again, while coke producers in Hebei Province also plan to make certain adjustments to their prices in the near future.