During the week ending March 22, metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have mostly moved on a decreasing trend, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at low-to-medium levels. As of March 22, coke futures contract (1905) offers at Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at RMB 1,999/mt ($298/mt), up $1/mt week on week. Average coke prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, inventories of coke have risen significantly as downstream users have been unwilling to conclude purchases. Coking plants’ profitability has narrowed to relatively low margins. Some Chinese steelmakers have sought to reduce their purchase prices for coke due to production cuts. However, steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates are expected to increase, which will bolster coke prices. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
|
Product name |
Specification |
Place of origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change (RMB/mt) |
|
Coke |
Second grade |
Hancheng, Shaanxi |
1,850 |
276 |
0 |
|
Zibo, Shandong |
1,850 |
276 |
↓100 |
||
|
Pingdingshan, Henan |
2,000 |
298 |
↓150 |
||
|
Tangshan |
1,900 |
283 |
↓100 |
||
|
Huaibei, Anhui |
2,080 |
310 |
↓100 |
||
|
Average |
1,936 |
289 |
↓90 |
16 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.71