On June 15, the seventh round of hikes in coke prices was implemented in the Chinese domestic market. Molten iron outputs in China are at relatively high levels, while coking plants’ capacity utilization rates have declined, exerting a positive impact on coke prices. Market players expect that coke prices may indicate further rises in the future, though reports of an eighth round of price hikes have not been heard yet. Coke prices in the Chinese domestic market are anticipated to remain firm in the coming week.
First-grade coke prices in Tangshan are at RMB 2,005/mt ($294.4/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 55/mt compared to June 12, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
Prices of coke in local markets in China
| Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change（RMB/mt） | Weekly Change（$/mt） |
| Coke | First grade （A<13.0,S<0.75,CSR>65.0） | Hancheng, Shaanxi | 1,885 | 276.8 | 55.0 | 8.1 |
| Zibo, Shandong | 2,020 | 296.6 | 55.0 | 8.1 | ||
| Pingdingshan, Henan | 1,870 | 274.6 | 55.0 | 8.1 | ||
| Tangshan | 2,005 | 294.4 | 55.0 | 8.1 | ||
| Huaibei, Anhui | 1,920 | 281.9 | 55.0 | 8.1 | ||
| Average | 1,940 | 284.8 | 55.0 | 8.1 |
All prices include 13 percent VAT.
As of June 16, coke futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are standing at RMB 2,083.5/mt ($306/mt), increasing by RMB 5.5/mt ($5.4/mt) or 0.3 percent since June 12, while decreasing by 0.67 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 15.
As for the import coking coal segment, there has been a rumor of a sale done at around $265/mt CFR for premium hard coking coal in China, which is up from last week’s reference price of $255-260/mt CFR. A higher level could even be accepted by Chinese mills if the general uptrend and the tight supply in the local market persist. At the moment, a few traders are offering at $272-276/mt CFR.
Meanwhile, no new deals have been reported for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal after a contract concluded at $243/mt FOB last week.
$1 = RMB 6.8108
