Low-sulphur coking coal in Linfen was quoted at 2,550 yuan/mt. Production recovery in China’s major mining areas has remained well below market expectations. Intensive safety inspections in Shanxi continue to limit the pace of the supply recovery, while mines that have resumed operations are generally running at low utilization rates.
With supply remaining constrained, mining companies are maintaining firm price expectations and showing limited willingness to sell. As a result, the coking coal market is expected to remain relatively strong in the short term.
In the coke market, the national average price of quasi-first-grade metallurgical coke produced via dry quenching stood at 2,310 yuan/mt.
Meanwhile, some coke producers are preparing to implement a fifth round of price increases of 100-110 yuan/mt, effective from 00:00 on September 7. Despite the full implementation of the previous round of increases, most coke producers continue to face significant losses due to high production costs. This is limiting their willingness to increase output and providing further support to prices.
Demand from the steel sector, however, remains solid. Coke inventories at producers’ plants are declining at a faster pace, while some steel mills have seen their own coke stocks fall to low levels. This has increased purchasing interest and prompted some mills to push for faster deliveries.
High levels of hot metal production at steel mills are also providing firm underlying support for coke demand. With steelmakers maintaining relatively high output, the coke market is benefiting from sustained downstream consumption.
Overall, both coking coal and coke markets are expected to remain firm in the near term. Tight raw material supply, high production costs and strong demand from steelmakers are creating favorable conditions for the planned fifth round of coke price increases to be implemented.
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