The bearish outlook for steel demand in China, coupled with the low-priced steel influx from Russia recently, has dragged down sentiments regarding steelmaking inputs in the future. Specifically, in the futures market, at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) as of Thursday, June 16, coking coal futures prices have settled at RMB 2,609/mt ($389/mt), down RMB 254.5/mt ($39/mt) compared to the levels on Friday, June 10. Meanwhile, coke futures prices have declined by RMB 496/mt ($50/mt) over the given period to RMB 3,325/mt ($496/mt). “It is a terrible day for futures, with coking coal futures getting crushed. The stimulus support, implemented for China’s struggling economy lately, has failed to give resilient support,” an international trader stated. “Apart from everything, the flooding of Russian material destroys a market, and the coking coal market in particular,” another international trader said, echoing the previous sentiments. Specifically, despite certain gains in the latest deals to China, prices for ex-Russia coking coal have remained much lower than the levels the alternative suppliers are ready to accept. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, the latest cargoes of ex-Russia K10 coking coal have been booked at $307/mt CFR and $301.3/mt CFR to China. “Given the flooding of Russian materials, it makes little sense to buy Australian coking coal,” an international trader stated.
Specifically, the latest offer for ex-Australia premium mid-volatility hard coking coal (HCCA), for July laycan, at $382/mt FOB Australia has remained unattractive for buyers. “I am sure not much will come to India now, apart from LTC [less than container] cargoes. There are a few, which people signed up for earlier,” a representative of an Indian steel mill commented.
Meanwhile, at the Singapore Exchange (SGX), coking coal prices for June contracts have declined by 0.69 percent from previous levels to $383.67/mt.