During the week ending September 25, import coking coal quotations in China have moved up amid better demand in Europe and Asia.
Quotations of premium hard coking coal from Australia are at $147/mt CFR China, up $11/mt compared to last week. Hard coking coal prices are at $125/mt CFR, up $9/mt compared to the previous week.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 1,950/mt ($286/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 50/mt ($7.3/mt) compared to the previous week, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, capacity utilization rates of coking plants have decreased slightly, bolstering coke prices to some extent. However, steelmakers’ profit margins have declined amid decreasing steel prices. Coking coal prices have edged up, positively affecting coke prices from the cost side.
As of Friday, September 25, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 1,907.5/mt ($280/mt), decreasing by RMB 81/mt ($12/mt) or 4.1 percent compared to September 18.
$1 = RMB 6.8121