[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Daily Brief]
Coking Coal Market:
Linfen low-sulphur coking coal is quoted at 2,020 yuan/mt.
On the coking coal side, the pace of production resumptions at mines is slow, with structural shortages of some skeleton coal types. However, demand is weak, some high-priced coal types remain under pressure, and traders and washing plants are increasingly willing to sell at discounts. In the short term, the coking coal market may continue to be in the doldrums.
Coke Market:
The nationwide average price of quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke (dry quenching) is 1,980 yuan/mt.
Supply side, after two rounds of price declines, most coke producers are operating at a loss, leading to tighter coke supply. However, downstream steel mills are controlling coke arrivals, causing coke inventories at producers to accumulate continuously. Demand side, hot metal output at steel mills is unlikely to increase significantly, and finished steel prices continue to fall, making steel mills cautious in their coke procurement. Overall, market sentiment is negative, and there is still room for a pullback in coke prices. In the short term, the coke market may remain in the doldrums. [SMM Steel]
