Poor Sales Discourage Coking Companies from Ramping up Production

SHANGHAI, Feb 10 (SMM) - According to SMM survey, the capacity utilisation rate of coke oven stood at 76.9% this week, down 0.2 percentage point over the week. In particular, the rate in Shanxi dropped 0.2 percentage point from a week ago to 75.0%.

The narrowed profits of coking companies, coupled with the expectations for a third round of coke price cuts, caused coking companies to maintain production at current capacity. The supply of coke was thus stable.

Meanwhile, steel mills basically finished restocking activities and started to be cautious about purchasing coke. As a result, the inventory of coking companies dropped at a slower pace, and some companies even saw an increase. 

The limited purchases of coke and delayed production resumption of some steel mills will further weaken the demand for coke. Therefore, coking enterprises will not be passionate about ramping up their production. The capacity utilisation rate of coke oven is forecast to be stable next week.