[SMM Survey of Coal and Coke Daily Briefing] October 20, 2025

Published: Oct 20, 2025 16:52

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[SMM Daily Coal and Coke Briefing] Macro news: The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to be held in Beijing from October 20 to 23. The session will review the "Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," which is expected to outline the blueprint for China's development over the next five years and stimulate commodity prices. Supply side, most coke producers are operating near the break-even line, with some incurring minor losses, leading to a slight decline in overall operating rates. Currently, coke producers are experiencing smooth shipments, and coke inventories remain mostly at low levels. Demand side, some steel mills with low coke inventories still have restocking needs, providing some support for coke prices. However, due to persistently tightening profits from finished products, steel mills have increased blast furnace maintenance, and hot metal production is expected to continue declining. Daily coke consumption at steel mills has decreased, with most downstream buyers purchasing as needed. In summary, the daily average production of hot metal at steel mills dropped back slightly. However, as most steel mills maintain high operating rates, coke demand remains moderate. Coupled with strengthening cost support, market sentiment toward coke has turned more bullish, and the coke market is likely to hold up well in the short term.

[SMM Coal and Coke Daily Briefing]

Coking Coal Market:

The low-sulphur coking coal offer in Linfen was 1,560 yuan/mt. The low-sulphur coking coal offer in Tangshan was 1,490 yuan/mt.

Fundamentals, coking coal supply was relatively stable with no significant change in production. Downstream coke and steel enterprises were purchasing as needed, showing low acceptance of high-priced resources. Recently, online auction sentiment for coking coal recovered, with a low proportion of failed auctions. Mine mentality improved, and coking coal prices in some regions rose by 20 yuan/mt. Short-term coking coal prices are expected to be generally stable with slight rise.

Coke Market:

The nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke - dry quenching was 1,790 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke - dry quenching was 1,650 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke - wet quenching was 1,440 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke - wet quenching was 1,350 yuan/mt.

Macro news, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to be held in Beijing from October 20 to 23. The session will review the "Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," which is expected to chart the course for China's development over the next five years and stimulate commodity prices. Supply side, most coke enterprises' profits were near the break-even line, with some incurring minor losses, leading to a slight overall decrease in operating rates. Currently, coke enterprises are shipping smoothly, with coke inventory mostly at low levels. Demand side, some steel mills with low coke inventory still have restocking needs, providing some support for coke prices. However, affected by continuously tightening finished product profits, steel mills increased blast furnace maintenance, and hot metal production is expected to continue declining. Daily coke consumption at steel mills decreased, with most downstream steel mills purchasing as needed. In summary, the daily average hot metal production at steel mills dropped back slightly. However, most steel mills maintained high operating rates, resulting in moderate coke demand. Coupled with strengthened cost support, market bullish sentiment towards coke increased. The coke market is expected to hold up well in the short term.[SMM Steel]

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