During the week ending April 4, metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued their downward trend, with significant decreases seen in central China, while transaction activity has shown a certain improvement. As of April 4, coke futures contract (1409) offers at Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at RMB 1,263/mt ($203/mt), up $6/mt week on week. Local coke prices in the Chinese domestic market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Although transaction activity has indicated some improvement in the Chinese domestic coke market during the given week, high inventory levels have exerted downward pressure on transaction prices. Currently, sentiment in the finished steel market has become more bullish than before, providing a certain amount of support for the raw materials market. Meanwhile, following the previous declines recorded, market participants think that coke prices in China are now at low levels. It is expected that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will only see a limited decrease in the near future as coking enterprises have recently cut their output volumes.