SHANGHAI, Jun 22 (SMM) – According to the General Administration of Customs, China exported 951,000 mt of coke in May, up 49.1% MoM and 145.7% YoY. The combined exports in the first five months totalled 3.2 million mt.
The imports of coke stood at 95,000 mt, up 143.6% MoM and down 14.2% YoY. The total imports in January-May stood at 245,000 mt.
In May, China mainly exported coke to Brazil (273,000 mt, 29%), Mexico (98,000 mt, 10%), Vietnam (77,000 mt, 8%), Japan (67,000 mt, 7%), India (61,000 mt, 6%), Indonesia (60,000 mt, 6%), the Netherlands (55,000, 6%) and the United Kingdom (44,000 mt, 6%) with a total volume of 736,000 mt, accounting for 77.4% of China’s total exports.
In May, China mainly imported coke from Japan and Russia, with a combined import volume of 91,000 mt, accounting for 94.7% of the total imports, including 54,000 mt from Japan, accounting for 57% of China’s total, and 37,000 mt from Russia, accounting for 39%.
SMM Comments: Coke exports in May were 951,000 mt, an increase of 49.1% MoM and a significant increase of 145.7% YoY. Exports in May were satisfactory and there was still strong demand for coke abroad. Entering June, the COVID lockdown in Shanghai ended and market confidence has been restored. Coupled with the high pig iron production at around 2.4-2.6 million mt/day, the demand for coke was robust and coke prices have risen for two rounds, totalling 300 yuan/mt. However, after steel sales failed to meet expectations and the in-plant steel stocks continued to rise, coke prices were again forced down by 300 yuan/mt. And due to the lack of confidence in the market, coke prices are likely to fall further Therefore, the current domestic coke prices are favourable for the export market, and the overall export volume in June and July is still expected to hover at a high level.
