During the week ending November 12, import quotations for coking coal in China have fallen sharply amid increased local supply owing to the government push on production, while local coke prices have also posted sharp drops.
Prices for coking coal from North America have plunged to $525-533/mt CFR with the midpoint at $529/mt CFR, down by $73.5/mt on average from last week.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 3,560/mt ($556.3/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 400/mt ($62.5/mt) compared to November 5, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down sharply amid the continuing environmental protection inspections in Shanxi Province. Inventory of coke has increased as steelmakers have been unwilling to book too many supplies. Meanwhile, downstream steelmakers wanted to cut purchase prices for coke. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge down slightly in the coming week.
As of Friday, November 12, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,952/mt ($461.3/mt), decreasing by RMB 94/mt ($14.7/mt) or 3.1 percent compared to November 5.
$1 = RMB 6.4065
