[SMM Coal and Coke Daily Briefing] 20251128

[SMM Coal and Coke Daily Briefing]

Coking Coal Market:

Low-sulphur coking coal in Linfen was offered at 1,580 yuan/mt. Low-sulphur coking coal in Tangshan was offered at 1,610 yuan/mt.

Raw material fundamentals, the pace of mine production resumptions fell short of expectations, coupled with new mine suspensions recently, leading to a renewed tightening of coking coal supply in the short term. However, market sentiment weakened significantly, market transactions gradually became sluggish, the rate of failed online auctions increased, participants mainly adopted a wait-and-see approach, overall order signing at mines was average, and some coal types still had room for price reductions.

Coke Market:

The nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke - dry quench was 1,955 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke - dry quench was 1,815 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke - wet quench was 1,590 yuan/mt. The nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke - wet quench was 1,500 yuan/mt.

On the news front, some steel mills initiated coke price reduction requests, effective from 00:00 on December 1. Supply side, coking plants are in a profitable state, operating rates continue to rise, and coke supply continues to increase. However, the pace of shipments from coking plants slowed down, and inventory accumulated somewhat. Demand side, falling steel prices led to a contraction in steel mill profits, and with recent coke inventory at steel mills being at reasonable levels, restocking slowed down. Furthermore, some steel mills have expanded maintenance plans, coke demand is expected to weaken, and there are actions to control incoming shipments. In summary, the coke supply-demand structure is tending towards looser, market expectations for a price drop increase, and coke prices may see a reduction next week.[SMM Steel]