During the week ending September 10, import quotations for coking coal in China showed another round of sharp increases, supported by continuous tight supply from local and international miners. Moreover, demand has been on the higher side, with local coke prices increasing even more rapidly than earlier.
Prices for premium hard coking coal from North America have surged again this week, reaching $475.5/mt CFR, up $46.5/mt compared to September 3. Offers have already reached $490-500/mt CFR. Second-tier material from this source has been priced at $440/mt CFR and a deal at this level has been reported during the week.
Lower quality coking coal from Russia has been reported at $363/mt CFR, rising $45/mt over the past week. At the same time, the traded price level for semi-hard K10 Russian coal to China reached $410/mt CFR.
The uptrend has been seen in Australian export prices as well. Quotations of premium hard coking coal from Australia are equivalent to $323.5/mt CFR China, up $39/mt compared to last week. Hard coking coal prices correspond to $239/mt CFR, up $26/mt compared to the previous week.
The local coke market has still been following a strong trend in China this week. Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 3,960/mt ($613.4/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 400/mt ($62/mt) compared to September 3, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued their sharply increasing trend amid decreasing inventory levels and production restrictions in Shandong and Shanxi Provinces. Local coking coal prices have moved up further, while supply will unlikely see big rises due to safety control measures, which will bolster its prices. It is expected that coke prices will move up further in the coming week.
As of Friday, September 10, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 3,508/mt ($543.4/mt), increasing by RMB 171.5/mt ($26.6/mt) or 5.14 percent compared to September 3.
$1 = RMB 6.4566