Sinopec News: Expecting coking coal prices to remain stable for the time being

In March, domestic coking coal and coke supply in China was relatively abundant. As steel demand at the end-market did not start strongly, and with steel product inventories being run down, there was a high probability that coking coal and coke prices would come under pressure and move downward. However, affected by uncertainty in the Middle East situation, domestic coal prices remained slightly firm, and speculative demand increased somewhat. At the same time, downstream steel mills’ procurement activity also improved accordingly, providing some support to the coking coal and coke market that was originally characterized by strong supply and weak demand. In addition, after domestic key meetings concluded, there is an expectation that some blast furnaces in Hebei that had reduced production or been under maintenance will resume operations in a concentrated manner. Hot metal output is expected to rise significantly, and coke consumption will increase. With support on the cost side and an incremental expectation on the demand side, procurement sentiment in the coke market warmed slightly. The fundamentals improved, and steel mills are more cautious about raising or lowering coke prices. They are also more cautious about price increases and decreases, with a clear reduction in inventory reduction and volume-control operations. In the short term, some coking plants still have stock that needs to be digested, so coke prices are expected to remain stable for the time being.