During the week ending May 24, metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved on an upward trend in Zibo and Tangshan, though remaining stable in other regions, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at medium levels. As of May 24, coke futures contract (1909) offers at Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at RMB 2,321/mt ($336/mt), up $23/mt compared to the previous week. Average coke prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, coking plants’ capacity utilization rates have declined slightly due to recent environmental protection inspections in some regions of China. Coking plants have received sufficient orders, while their inventory levels have decreased and so they are mostly upbeat as regards the future prospects for the trend of the market. Currently, domestic finished steel prices are firm, which encourages steelmakers to keep their capacity utilization rates at high levels, thereby boosting demand for coke. It is expected that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will move upward in the coming week.
|
Product name |
Specification |
Place of origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change (RMB/mt) |
|
Coke |
Second grade |
Hancheng, Shaanxi |
1,900 |
275 |
0 |
|
Zibo, Shandong |
2,100 |
304 |
↑100 |
||
|
Pingdingshan, Henan |
1,950 |
283 |
0 |
||
|
Tangshan |
2,150 |
312 |
↑100 |
||
|
Huaibei, Anhui |
2,030 |
294 |
0 |
||
|
Average |
2,026 |
294 |
↑40 |
13 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.90