Positive developments seen in the steel industry in China lately have been insufficient to support the coal prices. This week, the foreign coal producers have been forced to decrease their quotations further to attract buying interest.
On balance, import quotations of coking coal from Canada and Russia have declined to $336.5/mt and $235/mt CFR, down $3.5/mt and down $5/mt compared to that recorded on December 17, respectively.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,560/mt ($402/mt) ex-warehouse, remaining stable compared to that recorded on December 17, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coke prices in China moved sideways amid the declining capacity utilization rates. Coking plants are seeking to raise their coke prices amid the decreasing output due to the environmental protection measures in the coming weeks.
As of Friday, December 24, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 3,168.5/mt ($497.4/mt), rising by RMB 117.5/mt ($18.5/mt) or 3.85 percent compared to December 17.
$1 = RMB 6.3692
