China: Weekly coal and coke market highlights
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China's domestic metallurgical coke prices have moved up even higher in late January on tight supply because there were no signs of significant improvement of coke production capacity.
Chinese steel mills accept 14th coke price uptick--
Early this week, Chinese domestic coke producers in some areas proposed the 14th round of price increases, raising their offers by CNY 100/t ($15/t), effective from 20 Jan'21.
Steel mills in provinces such as Shandong, Hebei and Shanxi started to accept the coke price hike shortly thereafter, marking a total increase of CNY 900/t since July 2020.
Besides, some mills in Tangshan were heard to have cut steel production due to weaker margins and a lack of coke supply. Scheduled maintenance of blast furnaces have also increased recently.
CoalMint assessed the latest price for domestic met coke with 12.5% ash in North China at CNY 2,820/t ($443.45/t), up CNY 100/t ($15.57/t) on the week, with one more round of upward price adjustment expected before Lunar New Year.
Supply tightness and higher restocking demand ahead of the festive season is likely to keep prices supported, according to coke traders.
Meanwhile, China's Shaanxi province recently released its progress of coal de-capacity in 2020, during when 57 collieries with a total capacity of 16.93 mn t/year were phased out. Collieries below 300,000 t/year have topped the de-capacity list, including 47 such collieries with total capacity of 11.41 mn t/year.
China: Dec'20 Met Coke Export/Import Statistics--
Customs data released on 22 Jan'21 showed that China has resumed its role as a net exporter of metallurgical coke, having exported 394,901 t in December, up 34% on the month. Simultaneously, China imported 221,677 t of coke in December, down 28% m-o-m.
Chinese met coke export prices for the 64% CSR BF grade are being heard in the range of $475-480/t FOB China.
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By Aditya Sinha
