Chinese coke prices to decrease
2024-03-08 08:32:53 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 8 Mar 24 - Prices of coke declined by RMB100-110/t (USD14-15/t) in major domestic markets last week, and they may go down further in the coming week upon the slow market. Steel mills plan to decrease purchasing prices of coke by RMB100-110/t (USD14-15/t) early next week. Presently, the mainstream prices of dry quenching metallurgical coke A13 S0.7 stand at RMB2,200-2,400/t (USD306-333/t) D/P, similar to late last week.
"We may announce the fifth price decline of coke by RMB110/t (USD15/t) early next week," revealed the purchasing official from a steel mill in Hebei. According to him, prices of coal keep decreasing, with the markdown of around RMB400/t (USD56/t) after the Chinese New Year holiday. Besides, the demand for downstream steel remains insufficient and stocks keep rising, and steel mills burden with both sales and capital pressures for the moment. In addition, more and more coking plants in Shanxi tend to hike production with the reducing production costs. "We slowed down the purchase this week and just bought 3,000t of dry quenching metallurgical coke A13 S0.7 at RMB2,360/t (USD328/t) D/P delivered on Thursday, while at least bought 5,000t a day in February," added the source, deeming prices of coke would decline by RMB110/t (USD15/t) next week.
Reporting an annual consumption capacity of 2 million tons, the steel mill would use 90,000t of coke in March, similar to February. It consumed approximately 1.2 million tons of coke in 2023. Presently, the steel mill holds around 23,000t in inventory.
The sales official from a coking plant in Shanxi also believes prices of coke would witness the markdown of RMB100-110/t (USD14-15/t) in the coming week. "With prices of coal decreasing continuously, losses for coking plants narrowed and some could even gain profits now, and thus plan to resume production from cutting production by 20% to 50% in late February," added the source. Meanwhile, he pointed out that the soft demand for steel weakened the confidence of steel mills. Besides, more and more steel mills face tight capital flow and endeavor to cut production costs. The source sold about 5,000t of dry quenching metallurgical coke A13 S0.7 at RMB2,200/t (USD306/t) EXW D/P on Thursday, and last sold 10,000t at the same price on Tuesday.
Based on an annual production capacity of 2.05 million tons, the coking plant would produce 100,000t of coke in March, in line with February. It roughly produced 2.1 million tons of coke in 2023, without any stocks for the moment.
"We may announce the fifth price decline of coke by RMB110/t (USD15/t) early next week," revealed the purchasing official from a steel mill in Hebei. According to him, prices of coal keep decreasing, with the markdown of around RMB400/t (USD56/t) after the Chinese New Year holiday. Besides, the demand for downstream steel remains insufficient and stocks keep rising, and steel mills burden with both sales and capital pressures for the moment. In addition, more and more coking plants in Shanxi tend to hike production with the reducing production costs. "We slowed down the purchase this week and just bought 3,000t of dry quenching metallurgical coke A13 S0.7 at RMB2,360/t (USD328/t) D/P delivered on Thursday, while at least bought 5,000t a day in February," added the source, deeming prices of coke would decline by RMB110/t (USD15/t) next week.
Reporting an annual consumption capacity of 2 million tons, the steel mill would use 90,000t of coke in March, similar to February. It consumed approximately 1.2 million tons of coke in 2023. Presently, the steel mill holds around 23,000t in inventory.
The sales official from a coking plant in Shanxi also believes prices of coke would witness the markdown of RMB100-110/t (USD14-15/t) in the coming week. "With prices of coal decreasing continuously, losses for coking plants narrowed and some could even gain profits now, and thus plan to resume production from cutting production by 20% to 50% in late February," added the source. Meanwhile, he pointed out that the soft demand for steel weakened the confidence of steel mills. Besides, more and more steel mills face tight capital flow and endeavor to cut production costs. The source sold about 5,000t of dry quenching metallurgical coke A13 S0.7 at RMB2,200/t (USD306/t) EXW D/P on Thursday, and last sold 10,000t at the same price on Tuesday.
Based on an annual production capacity of 2.05 million tons, the coking plant would produce 100,000t of coke in March, in line with February. It roughly produced 2.1 million tons of coke in 2023, without any stocks for the moment.
