During the week ending November 13, import quotations in China have moved up sharply for premium hard coking coal as ex-Australia coking coal has not been allowed to discharge at Chinese ports yet and the new quota will be opened only from 2021. Buyers have sought coking coal from other regions, while some of them have halted bookings for now. As a result, in such conditions the indicative CFR price level for Australian coking coal has continued to go down in China this week.
Prices for premium hard coking coal from Canada have increased to $153/mt CFR, up by $15/mt from late last week. At the same time, quotations of premium hard coking coal from Australia are equivalent to $111/mt CFR China, down $8.5/mt compared to the assessment last week.
There has been no new booking heard for hard coking coal from Russia to China after last week’s transaction at $122/mt CFR, but prices are expected to reach at least $137/mt CFR or even higher soon. Hard coking coal prices from Australia in China have been estimated at $102/mt CFR, down $8/mt compared to the previous week.
Coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,100/mt ($317/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to the previous week, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, coking plants’ capacity utilization rates in China have declined amid the production halts at some plants, while others have been seeking to continue production due to the decent profitability. However, Chinese steelmakers started to show caution as regards accepting higher coke prices. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge up further amid the rebounding trend in steel prices.
As of Friday, November 13, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are at RMB 2,419/mt ($365/mt), increasing by RMB 1.5/mt ($0.23/mt) or 0.06 percent compared to November 6.
$1 = RMB 6.6285