During the week ending May 28, import quotations of coking coal in China have remained stable, following a sharp increase last week. Buyers have not been ready to accept further hikes, while suppliers do not have big allocations and may wait. At the same time, higher demand from traders and alternative destinations have pushed up ex-Australia coking coal FOB prices.
Quotations of premium hard coking coal from Australia are equivalent to $162/mt CFR China, up $15/mt compared to last week. A few deals have been done at $152-154/mt FOB this week, reflecting stronger demand and providing support for prices. These cargoes will ultimately be sold to Southeast Asia or India, sources believe. China still has a ban on Australian coal. Ex-Australia hard coking coal prices correspond to $135/mt CFR, up $10/mt compared to the previous week.
In China, import prices for premium hard coking coal from Canada have remained at $275/mt CFR, while those for lower grade from Russia are still at $182/mt CFR, both moving sideways compared to May 21.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,840/mt ($442/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to May 21, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coke prices have remained stable amid rising inventory and increasing production outputs. Currently, demand and supply of coke has reached a relatively balanced level. The rises in domestic coking coal prices have slowed down over the past week.
As of Friday, May 28, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,430.5/mt ($380/mt), increasing by RMB 59.5/mt ($9.3/mt) or 2.5 percent compared to May 21.
$1 = RMB 6.3858