During the week ending May 17, local coke prices in China have moved sideways, while local coking coal prices have moved down, supporting producers from the cost side.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,200/mt ($310/mt) ex-warehouse, remaining stable compared to May 10, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
Product Name |
Specification |
Place of Origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly Change（RMB/mt) |
Weekly Change（$/mt) |
Coke |
First grade (A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0) |
Hancheng, Shaanxi |
2,160 |
304.0 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
Zibo, Shandong |
2,350 |
330.8 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
||
Pingdingshan, Henan |
2,090 |
294.2 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
||
Tangshan |
2,200 |
309.6 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
||
Huaibei, Anhui |
2,140 |
301.2 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
||
Average |
2,188 |
308.0 |
0.0 |
-0.2 |
All prices include 13 percent VAT.
During the given week, since local coking coal prices have moved down gradually, the cost pressure on coking plants has continued to weaken, exerting a positive impact on coking plants’ profitability. As a result, coking plants have been more willing to produce, with coke outputs increasing. Inventory of coke has been at relatively low levels, bolstering prices to a certain degree. China has issued several stimulus policies lately, including issuing ultra-long sovereign bonds, reducing interest rates on loans and cutting mortgage interest rates for house purchases, which will positively affect market sentiments in the near future. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week.
On May 17, offer prices of coke CSR65 in the export market are at $310-315/mt FOB, decreasing slightly from $315-320/mt FOB on May 10. Chinese coke exporters face great pressure from the recent news that India is considering a quota for imported coke, leaving very limited space for Chinese and Indonesian coke exporters with quotas less than 200,000 mt per year for each.
As of May 17, coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,724.5/mt ($243/mt), decreasing by RMB 29/mt ($4.1/mt) or 1.65 percent since May 10, while up 2.37 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 16. Meanwhile, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 2,264/mt ($319/mt), decreasing by RMB 5/mt ($0.7/mt) or 0.2 percent since May 10, while up 2.96 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 16.
$1 = RMB 7.1045