[SMM Daily Coking Coal and Coke Briefing]
Coking coal market:
Low-sulphur coking coal in Linfen was quoted at 1,630 yuan/mt. Low-sulphur coking coal in Tangshan was quoted at 1,480 yuan/mt.
Raw material fundamentals, mines operated normally, coking coal supply was relatively stable, some downstream coking plants made appropriate purchases, market sentiment recovered, high-quality skeletal coal grades had slight rise expectations, coking coal prices this week were generally stable with slight rise.
Coke market:
Nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke-dry quenching was 1,735 yuan/mt. Nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke-dry quenching was 1,595 yuan/mt. Nationwide average price for first-grade metallurgical coke-wet quenching was 1,390 yuan/mt. Nationwide average price for quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke-wet quenching was 1,300 yuan/mt.
Supply side, coking plants were in losses, and the first round increase did not materialize, suppressing coking plants' production enthusiasm, while downstream purchase enthusiasm improved, coking plants' overall coke inventory continued to decline, some coking plants held back sales. Demand side, steel mills' profits gradually recovered, production enthusiasm increased, some low inventory steel mills accelerated restocking pace for coke, meanwhile traders entered the market diverting supply, downstream coke demand increased significantly. In summary, downstream demand improved, coupled with enhanced cost support, coke market this week held up well, the first round coke price increase was highly likely to be implemented.
