[SMM Coal and Coke Daily Briefing] December 23, 2025

Published: Dec 23, 2025 16:50

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[SMM Daily Coal and Coke Brief] In terms of supply, after three rounds of price cuts, coke producers are already operating at a loss, with production stable but declining. However, downstream purchasing enthusiasm remains low, and environmental protection policies have caused shipping obstacles, forcing coke producers to build up inventory. On the demand side, environmental protection-driven production restrictions are being strictly enforced in some regions, leading to a decrease in hot metal output at steel mills and a reduction in rigid demand for coke. Additionally, some steel mills have seen their coke inventory rise to medium-to-high levels, resulting in efforts to control coke deliveries. Overall, market sentiment remains pessimistic, and the coke market is expected to remain in the doldrums in the short term.

[SMM Coal & Coke Daily Briefing]

Coking coal market:

Low-sulphur coking coal in Linfen was offered at 1,600 yuan/mt. Low-sulphur coking coal in Tangshan was offered at 1,480 yuan/mt.

Fundamentals of raw materials, mine accidents coupled with annual maintenance led to additional mine suspensions, tightening coking coal supply. Affected by falling coke prices, downstream wait-and-see sentiment was heavy. However, after price cuts for some coal types, shipments improved somewhat, and mines' willingness to adjust prices further weakened. Short-term coking coal prices may operate generally stable with slight fall.

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.

Supply side, after three rounds of price cuts, coke enterprises were already in a loss-making state, and operating rates were stable with some declines. However, downstream procurement enthusiasm was low, and environmental protection policy caused shipping obstacles, forcing coke plants to build up inventory. Demand side, environmental protection-driven production restrictions were strictly enforced in some regions, leading to a decline in steel mill hot metal production and a reduction in rigid coke demand. Additionally, coke inventory at some steel mills increased to a medium-high level, resulting in controlled arrivals of coke. In summary, market sentiment remained pessimistic, and the short-term coke market is expected to be in the doldrums. [SMM Steel]

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