During the week ending March 7, local coke prices in China have remained stable after the previous declines, but an increase is unlikely, at least in the short term.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 1,430/mt ($199.4/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to February 28, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coke | First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） | Hancheng, Shaanxi | 1,390 | 193.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Zibo, Shandong | 1,580 | 220.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | ||
| Pingdingshan, Henan | 1,430 | 199.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | ||
| Tangshan | 1,430 | 199.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | ||
| Huaibei, Anhui | 1,480 | 206.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | ||
| Average | 1,462 | 203.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
including 13 percent VAT
During the given period, coke prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways following previous declines. Coking plants’ sales of coke have improved slightly, while still under pressure amid increasing inventory levels.
Coking coal prices in the spot market have continued their downtrend, which even triggered a “fusion mechanism” in long-term contract (LTC) prices, resulting in the renegotiation of LTC prices. The LTC prices of big miners have even been higher than the spot market prices.
On the steelmakers’ side, inventories of coke are at relatively high levels, while increases in finished steel stocks have slowed down. It is thought that coke prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
On March 7, offer prices of coke CSR65 in the export market stand at $230/mt FOB, decreasing by $2.5/mt on average compared to February 28.
As of March 7, coking coal futures at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,083/mt ($151/mt), decreasing by RMB 10/mt ($1.4/mt) or 0.9 percent since February 28, while up 1.79 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 6. Meanwhile, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 1,657/mt ($231/mt), decreasing by RMB 27/mt ($3.8/mt) or 1.6 percent since February 28, while up 1.1 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 6.
$1 = RMB 7.1705