During the week ending July 21, coke prices have indicated increases compared to the previous week, signaling that the second round of hikes has been accepted. Moreover, by the end of the week, coking plants have announced their plan for a third round of increases, and by a larger margin than previously.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,090/mt ($292/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 60/mt ($8.4/mt) compared to July 14, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
|
|
Specification |
Place of Origin |
Price（RMB/mt） |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly Change（RMB/mt） |
Weekly Change（$/mt） |
|
Coke |
First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） |
Hancheng,Shaanxi |
2,050 |
286.9 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
|
Zibo ,Shandong |
2,240 |
313.5 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
||
|
Pingdingshan,Henan |
2,200 |
307.9 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
||
|
Tangshan |
2,090 |
292.5 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
||
|
Huaibei,Anhui |
2,250 |
314.9 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
||
|
Average |
2,166 |
303.1 |
60.0 |
7.8 |
including 13 percent VAT
During the given week, coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved up after the second round of rises of RMB 50-60/mt ($7-8.4/mt) were accepted by steelmakers. Meanwhile, the mainstream coking plants have issued notices announcing they are planning to implement a third round of price increases amounting to around RMB 100-110/mt ($14-15.4/mt), though steelmakers have not accepted any increases yet. Inventory of coke at coking plants has been at a relatively low level as they sold well recently. Steelmakers have been willing to produce, resulting in their readiness to build up stocks of coke. At the same time, local and import coking coal prices have increased, bolstering coke prices from the cost side. It is thought that coke prices may edge up in the coming week.
This week, a sale of ex-Russia K4 premium hard coking coal has been done at $174/mt CFR, up by $1/mt from the previous booking of the same grade. New offers at $175-177/mt CFR China.
As of Friday, July 21, coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have settled at RMB 1,501.5/mt ($210/mt), up by RMB 76/mt ($10.6/mt) or 5.3 percent week on week. Meanwhile, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,285.5/mt ($320/mt), increasing by RMB 66.5/mt ($9.3/mt) or 3.0 percent compared to July 14.
$1 = RMB 7.1456