Coke Prices may Increase This Week

SHANGHAI, Mar 7 (SMM) - On the supply side, despite the expanding losses, coking companies were optimistic about the first round of coke price hike that is likely to finalise soon, hence the supply of coke declined only slightly. On the demand side, steel mills restocked intensively before the price hike, and the demand is expected to decline in the future. On the cost side, the “Two Sessions” meeting and safety inspections brought about by mine accidents weighed on coking coal supply. As such, coking coal prices rose last week. But downstream enterprises were unwilling to purchase high-priced goods on a large scale and mainly purchased on demand. To sum up, coke supply and demand was balanced, but the costs increased significantly, which strongly supported the prices. The coke prices are expected to increase this week.