For example, Mysteel’s other survey conducted among a smaller sample of 30 merchant coke producers nationwide showed that as of May 30, these coke makers were still earning an average of Yuan 30 ($4.1) on every tonne of met coke they sold, only down by Yuan 4/t from the prior week.
Meanwhile, production at steelmakers trended down slightly this week as steel prices weakened and transactions turned listless, with the 247 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel’s tracking nationwide averaging 2.36 million t/d of hot metal during May 24-30, down by 9,700 t/d on week, according to Mysteel’s data.
Despite the decline in their hot metal production, most domestic steelmakers still purchased certain tonnage of coke necessary for their near-term production as most still managed to earn money when selling their steel, market sources observed.
Consequently, after climbing significantly during the previous week coke stocks at these 230 coke manufacturers declined this week, falling by 44,400 tonnes or 9.6% on week to 417,700 tonnes as of May 30, the latest survey findings showed.
As of Thursday, China’s national composite coke price under Mysteel’s assessment was almost unchanged at Yuan 2,004.6/t including VAT, only down by a tiny Yuan 2.3/t on week.
Market sources predict that the stability of coke prices should last a little longer as coke supply and demand remain generally in balance for now.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.