Met Coke offers from the key international market have exhibited a falling trend, apparently due to the falling Coking Coal prices. At the same time, the mandate of the Chinese government to lower steel production by 50% during the mid-Nov’17 to mid-Mar’18 has turned sentiments of the steel makers there bearish, which resulted in demand for Met Coke getting lower in the Chinese market.
The latest offers for the 64% CSR Met Coke are at around USD 352.50/MT FoB China, which is lower by around USD 12.50/MT over the offers in the week last. Also, the recent offers for the 62% CSR Met Coke are lower by around USD 12.50/MT, at around USD 347.50/MT FoB China, against the week-ago offers.
Source: CoalMint Research
For Indian buyers, these offers translate into: USD 367.50/MT and USD 362.50/MT respectively on CFR India basis.
In India, the demand is temporarily subdued with the Diwali festival round the corner. But, the overall demand is quite strong as active steel making is going on in the country. And, with the Met Coke prices coming down in the key international market, the buying propensity has strengthened among the Indian users.
The domestic Met Coke producers have not yet revised their prices, and they are expected to retain the current prices for sometime in order to capitalize upon the strong domestic demand.
The prevailing ex-works prices for the Blast Furnace grade in the country are: INR 22,200/MT (east coast),and INR 27,000/MT and 30,000/MT (west coast).
Source: CoalMint Research
IMPORTS
Met Coke imports in India have somewhat gained momentum as the international prices are falling. During the 1-13 Oct’17 period, around 0.3 MnT of Met Coke was imported in India, data compiled by CoalMint Research shows.
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