During the week ending April 23, local coke quotations in China have edged up. At the same time, prices for import coking coal have been showing only small changes as they have already been at a high level.
Quotations of premium hard coking coal from Canada are at $223/mt CFR, edging up by $1.5/mt compared to April 16. The supply is still limited, while demand has remained weak. Price level for lower quality Russian coking coal is still at $165/mt CFR.
Australian coking coal suppliers have managed to increase export prices slightly owing to demand in alternative markets like India. Ex-Australia premium hard coking coal price level translates to $132.5/mt on CFR China basis, up $4/mt compared to that recorded last week. Hard coking coal prices are equivalent to $116/mt CFR, up $2.5/mt from the previous week.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,100/mt ($323/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 100/mt ($15.4/mt) compared to that recorded on April 16, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coking producers’ capacity utilization rates have seen slight declines due to the production restrictions amid environmental protection supervision. Meanwhile, steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates have indicated rises, resulting in better demand for coke. The possible supply shortage will bolster coke prices in the near future. At the same time, local coking coal prices will also edge up amid the tight supply, which will provide certain support to coke prices from the cost side.
As of Friday, April 23, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,591.5/mt ($399/mt), increasing by RMB 119/mt ($18.3/mt) or 4.8 percent compared to April 16.
$1 = RMB 6.4934
