SHANGHAI, Sep 28 (SMM) - Coking coal market:

More and more stringent safety and environmental protection inspections seriously restrict coal mine production, so the coking coal supply may decrease. And approaching the National Day holiday, the downstream companies purchase coking coal actively, and the coal mines' in-plant inventories of coking coal keep declining. However, quotes for coking coal from mines stayed stable as the prices have experienced rises previously.

Coke market:

On the supply side, affected by the restocking of steel mills and the purchases of some traders, coke enterprises' in-plant inventories declined. Coke supply may be tightened amid the narrow profit margin of coke companies that was aroused by the recent rise in coking coal prices and the expected production cut of some companies due to environmental protection.

On the demand side, the profits of steel mills did not improve significantly, and the mills generally purchased coke on rigid demand.

On the whole, some coke enterprises suffered losses because of the continuous rise in costs, but some steel mills restocked appropriately, so the market was still bullish on the coke prices. However, the demand from steel mills may not last long as the mills get thin profits, so the short-term coke prices may be stable.