During the week ending February 6, local coke prices in China have seen rises compared to January 30, but after this first round of increases prices are going to be stable in the coming weeks as most mills have completed their restocking.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 1,655/mt ($238/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 55/mt ($7.9/mt) compared to January 30, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coke | First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） | Hancheng, Shaanxi | 1,555 | 223.5 | +55 | +7.9 |
| Zibo, Shandong | 1,690 | 242.9 | +55 | +7.9 | ||
| Pingdingshan, Henan | 1,540 | 221.3 | +55 | +7.9 | ||
| Tangshan | 1,655 | 237.8 | +55 | +7.9 | ||
| Huaibei, Anhui | 1,590 | 228.5 | +55 | +7.9 | ||
| Average | 1,606 | 230.8 | +55 | +7.9 |
All prices include 13 percent VAT.
Prices of coking coal in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coking Coal | A9,S0.4,V19,G88 | Linfen low-sulfur primary coking coal | 1,570 | 225.6 | -80.0 | -11.2 |
| A10.5,S3,V25,G80 | Lveliang high-sulfur primary coking coal | 1,180 | 169.6 | +8.0 | +1.4 | |
| A10,S1.8,V21,G90 | Jinzhong medium-sulfur primary coal | 1,186 | 170.4 | 0.0 | +0.2 | |
| A12,S1.2,V37.G90 | Linfen low-sulfur 1/3 coking coal | 1,190 | 171.0 | 0.0 | +0.2 | |
| Average | 1,281.5 | 184.2 | -18.0 | -2.3 |
Coke prices in the Chinese domestic market increased at the beginning of the given week. Later in the given week, more miners are expected to halt production for the holiday, providing some support for coke prices from the supply side. Since the Chinese New Year holiday (February 14-23) is approaching, demand for coke will be sluggish. It is expected that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Coking coal miners are entering the holiday period, causing the supply to the market to decline, bolstering prices to a certain degree. Steelmakers and coking plants have basically completed their stock replenishments for coking coal, and so transaction activities will be quiet in the near future. Inventories of coking coal are at relatively high levels, curbing any upside of prices.
On February 6, offer prices for CSR65 coke in the export market stand at $235-238/mt FOB, moving up slightly by $3/mt on the higher end compared to January 30.
As of February 6, coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,138.5/mt ($164/mt), decreasing by RMB 17/mt ($2.4/mt) or 1.5 percent since January 30, while decreasing by 3.68 percent compared to the previous trading day, February 5. Meanwhile, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,698.5/mt ($244/mt), declining by RMB 23/mt ($3.3/mt) or 1.3 percent since January 30, while declining by 2.64 percent compared to the previous trading day, February 5.
$1 = RMB 6.959