[SMM Coal and Coke Analysis] Steel Mills Maintain a Cautious Strategy; Coke Inventory at Coke Plants May Remain Stable Next Week

This week, coke inventories at coke plants stood at 361,000 mt, up 2,000 mt (+0.6%) WoW. Coke inventories at steel mills reached 2.983 million mt, up 27,000 mt (+0.9%) WoW. Coking coal inventories at coke plants totaled 3.134 million mt, up 54,000 mt (+1.8%) WoW. Coke inventories at ports were 1.21 million mt, up 60,000 mt (+5.2%) WoW.

This week, coke plant operating rates showed relatively small changes, with coke supply remaining stable. Meanwhile, downstream steel mills maintained high coke inventories, and their finished steel sales fell short of expectations. Their purchasing strategies were cautious, leading coke plants to barely achieve a balance between production and sales, with slight fluctuations in coke inventories. Going forward, coke supply is expected to remain stable, and steel mills are likely to maintain cautious purchasing strategies. Coke inventories at coke plants are expected to remain stable next week.

This week, coke prices declined, coupled with a stabilization in finished steel prices, which slightly boosted steel mills' purchasing enthusiasm. A small number of steel mills engaged in minor restocking. Moving forward, spot coke prices are expected to remain stable, with some steel mills potentially restocking. However, as pig iron production at steel mills increases, rigid demand for coke will rise. Coke inventories at steel mills are expected to increase slightly next week.

This week, coking coal prices declined, but coke plant production remained stable, with low willingness to restock coking coal. Only a small number of coke plants engaged in restocking. Moving forward, the expectation of further price reductions for coking coal is relatively small. However, most coke plants are likely to maintain a general willingness to restock, primarily purchasing as needed. Coking coal inventories at coke plants are expected to increase slightly next week.

This week, coke supply remained ample, but coke prices stabilized, leading to increased speculative enthusiasm among traders. Port inventories are expected to increase slightly next week.