[SMM Daily Briefing on Coking Coal and Coke]
Coking Coal Market:
The low-sulphur coking coal in Linfen is quoted at 2,040 yuan/mt.
For coking coal, only one mine in Qinyuan County, Changzhi, Shanxi has resumed production, while inspections for other mines are suspended. The resumption of production at mines that have passed inspections is also delayed pending final approvals and signatures, slowing the pace of coking coal production resumptions. Downstream buyers still have rigid demand, and prices for high-quality coking coal remain firm. However, high coking coal raw material prices are squeezing downstream profits, leading downstream coke and steel enterprises to purchase cautiously and traders to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Online mine auctions are seeing more unsold lots, online transaction prices are weakening, and deals are mostly at flat prices.
Coke Market:
The nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade dry-quenched metallurgical coke is 2,035 yuan/mt.
Supply side, coking coal prices stay high and coke by-product prices pull back, putting coke enterprise profits under pressure and extending production restrictions. However, as the upward momentum of some coal prices has slowed recently, coke enterprise profits have not been further squeezed, allowing them to barely maintain production, resulting in temporarily stable coke supply. Demand side, falling futures combined with the rainy season in south China have led to a slight weakening of steel products, shrinking steel mill profits. Nevertheless, blast furnace hot metal production stays high, and raw material arrivals are insufficient, leading to continuous destocking of coke inventory and keeping steel mill purchasing interest relatively strong. In summary, the coke market is expected to remain firm in the short term, with expectations for the ninth round of coke price increases to be implemented. [SMM Steel]
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