Steel Mills Mainly Purchased as Needed at Spot Market

SHANGHAI, Aug 30 (SMM) - Coking coal market: Some steel enterprises became less willing to purchase coking coal, and traders also cautiously reduced the purchases, exerting pressure on the shipments of coke mines. However, since the overall inventory of mines stayed low, who were thus firm to the prices, the quotations of coal mines were basically stable.

Coke market: On the supply side, the average operating rate of coking enterprises was maintained at a relatively high level with smooth sales. Although some coking enterprises had increasing stocks, the overall inventory still remained at a low level. New cases of COVID-19 were found in Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, where raw material and finished product shipment of some coking enterprises was affected. On the demand side, the coke stocks of steel mills stayed at medium and low levels, but the terminal demand remained poor. Under these circumstances, some steel mills limited the purchases. On the whole, steel mills still had a rigid demand for coke, but the terminal demand was yet to improve significantly, thus steel mills mainly purchased coke as need. It is expected that the coke prices will remain stable in the short term.