During the week ending December 26, the third round of decline in coke prices have been seen in the Chinese domestic market.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 1,655/mt ($235/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 55/mt ($7.8/mt) compared to December 19, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coke | First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） | Hancheng, Shaanxi | 1,555 | 221.0 | -55.0 | -7.2 |
| Zibo, Shandong | 1,690 | 240.2 | -55.0 | -7.1 | ||
| Pingdingshan, Henan | 1,540 | 218.9 | -55.0 | -7.2 | ||
| Tangshan | 1,655 | 235.2 | -55.0 | -7.2 | ||
| Huaibei, Anhui | 1,590 | 226.0 | -55.0 | -7.2 | ||
| Average | 1,606 | 228.3 | -55.0 | -7.2 |
including 13 percent VAT
Prices of coking coal in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coking Coal | A9,S0.4,V19,G88 | Linfen low-sulfur primary coking coal | 1,600 | 227.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| A10.5,S3,V25,G80 | Lveliang high-sulfur primary coking coal | 1,183 | 168.1 | -37.0 | -4.8 | |
| A10,S1.8,V21,G90 | Jinzhong medium-sulfur primary coal | 1,231 | 175.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
| A12,S1.2,V37.G90 | Linfen low-sulfur 1/3 coking coal | 1,190 | 169.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
| Average | 1,301 | 184.9 | -9.3 | -0.8 |
Coking plants’ capacity utilization rates have decreased slightly, while demand has been slack due to the cold weather hitting China. The weak coking coal prices also weakened the support to coke prices. Meanwhile, cautious sentiments prevailed among market players, resulting in the fourth round of decrease being expected.
During the given week, average coking coal prices in the Chinese domestic market have posted only small decreases. Inventories of coking coal have seen slight rises, exerting a negative impact on its prices. Downstream users have not started building up stock for winter usage. So, it is expected that coking coal prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely soften in the coming week.
On December 26, offer prices of coke CSR65 in the export market have been at $225-230/mt FOB, decreasing by $7.5/mt compared to December 19.
As of December 26, coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,115.5/mt ($158.5/mt), increasing by RMB 7.5/mt ($1.06/mt) or 0.7 percent since December 19, while decreasing by 1.02 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 25. Meanwhile, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,720/mt ($244/mt), rising by RMB 122.5/mt ($17.4/mt) or 7.7 percent since December 19, while declining by 1.12 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 25.
$1 = RMB 7.0358