During the week ending December 13, import coking coal quotations in China have moved sideways, while metallurgical coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged up in some cities.
In the given period, quotations of premium hard coking coal from Australia have been at $151/mt CFR China, remaining stable compared to last week. Hard coking coal prices are at $135/mt CFR on December 13, also moving sideways week on week.
Coke prices in Tangshan, Hancheng and Zibo are at RMB 1,850/mt ($264/mt), RMB 1,700/mt ($242/mt), RMB 1,800/mt ($257/mt) ex-warehouse, respectively, all up RMB 50/mt ($7.1/mt) compared to the previous week, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
During the given week, steel enterprises in Tangshan in Hebei Province have been requested to implement level II anti-smog measures starting from 12:00 on December 13 due to the expected increase in smog. These measures will negatively affect steel output and thereby exert a negative impact on the coke market. However, coking coal supply has been on the tight side, which will bolster coke prices. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have risen by RMB 43/mt ($6.1/mt) as of Friday, December 13, compared to December 6.
$1 = RMB 7.016
