One more fresh booking of ex-Russia coking coal has been done in China at slightly higher price compared to the levels fixed in previous deals. Accordingly, a 21,000 mt cargo of K10 coking coal, produced by Russia's Mechel, with August 25-September 2 laycan, has changed hands at $229/mt CFR China, while last week the same material was booked at $226/mt CFR China. Offers of import low-volatility pulverized coal injunction (PCI) have been heard at $176.5/mt CFR China, while mid-volatility PCI is available at a price $2/mt lower. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, ex-Russia PCI was booked at $182/mt CFR China late last week. Overall, the outlook with regard to the future developments in the segment, likewise in the steel industry in general, remains highly mixed, with Beijing having stepped up efforts to shore up confidence as China’s economy is battered by a snowballing property sector downturn and stifling Covid policy.
In the meantime, local prices for prime quality coking coal with ash content not higher than 10.5 percent have remained unchanged compared to the previous week's levels, at RMB 2,150/mt.
Meanwhile, in the metallurgical coke segment no significant changes have been seen recently, with most Chinese steelmakers having become cautious in building up stocks for coke amid the intensifying gambling sentiments among market players. As of today, local met coke prices have moved sideways, with changes seen only in dollar equivalent due to the currency fluctuations. “China's government has introduced a stimulus package to help the economy, so now coke price may stabilize or in a better case for suppliers will increase,” a Chinese trader stated.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,930/mt ($427.8/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to August 19, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Average first-grade coke prices in China’s main markets are presented in the following table.
|
Product Name |
Specification |
Place of Origin |
Price（RMB/mt） |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly Change（RMB/mt） |
Weekly Change（$/mt） |
|
Coke |
First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） |
Hancheng,Shaanxi |
2,940 |
429.3 |
0.0 |
-2.6 |
|
Zibo ,Shandong |
3,080 |
449.7 |
0.0 |
-2.8 |
||
|
Pingdingshan,Henan |
2,850 |
416.1 |
0.0 |
-2.6 |
||
|
Tangshan |
2,930 |
427.8 |
0.0 |
-2.6 |
||
|
Huaibei,Anhui |
2,950 |
430.7 |
0.0 |
-2.7 |
||
|
Average |
2,950 |
430.7 |
0.0 |
-2.7 |
Note: Prices include 13 percent VAT
As of Friday, August 26, the most traded coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have been traded at RMB 2,050/mt ($299/mt), up RMB 89.5/mt day on day and RMB 178.5/mt week on week, while coke futures prices have been settled at RMB 2,693/mt ($393/mt), decreasing by RMB 65/mt day on day and RMB 66.5/mt week on week, respectively.
$1 = RMB 6.8486