Coke production fell by 6.3% in the first two months, with no hope of recovery in the short term

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The latest data from the China Investment Consulting Industry Research Center shows that my country's coke production in February this year was 24.2383 million tons, an increase of only 845,400 tons from January, a decrease of 3.0% from the same period last year; the cumulative coke production from January to February was 47.6312 million tons, a decrease of 6.3% from the same period last year. Data show that the coke market was in a weak and sluggish situation in the first two months of 2009. 　　According to 2008 data from the coke market, coke production in December 2008 was 22.1714 million tons, an increase of 1.9172 million tons from 2025.42 last month, a month-on-month increase of 8.6%, and a decrease of 25% this month compared with the same period last year. The cumulative coke production in 2008 was 323.59 million tons, down 0.4% from last year. 　　Export data shows that my country's coke exports have basically stagnated. Since September last year, my country's coke export volume and price have shown a downward trend month by month. The export volume in October dropped sharply from 1.37 million tons last month to 526,000 tons, and further fell to 222,000 tons in December. The export volume in January this year was 77,000 tons, and in February it was only 30,000 tons, which is the lowest monthly export level since 2006. 　　Since February, the price of building materials has been falling sharply. In Shanghai, it has reached 3,250 yuan/ton, which is nearly 500 yuan/ton lower than the highest point in February. The decline in the steel market has spread to the coke market. Although this weakness is slightly lagging behind in the coke market, since the second half of the year, the weakness in the coke market has gradually become apparent. The price of secondary metallurgical coke has fallen below 1,750 yuan/ton. Some coking plants have difficulty in shipping goods and are struggling to operate. 　　Jiang Qian, an energy industry analyst at CIC Consulting, believes that the ups and downs of the coke market in February were attributed to the plummeting steel prices. Therefore, the trend of the steel market in March will determine the fluctuation range of coke prices. However, judging from the current market environment, the steel market in March will mainly fluctuate and consolidate, and may even show weakness. Therefore, the demand for coke will not increase much in the short term, so the weak situation of the coke market cannot be changed. In addition, due to the recent shortage of clean coal resources, the price of clean coal has been on the rise. The coke market is facing the dual pressures of rising upstream raw material prices and declining downstream demand. Significant production restriction is still the only way out for the current coke market. Therefore, it is expected that the weak downward trend of the coke market will continue in March.