Thread Content
(April 3 – April 10) According to statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association, China’s crude steel production in March was around 42.9 million tons, with an average daily production of 1.384 million tons. This figure represents a decrease of 63,000 tons compared to February, indicating that steel mills have reduced their demand for coke. Affected by this, domestic coke market prices continued to decline this week, resulting in increased inventory pressure for coking enterprises. Although coking coal prices have also dropped by 100–150 yuan per ton recently, most coking enterprises remain in the red, and many manufacturers have extended the coking time. Demand in the global coke export market remains weak, with prices showing a slight downward trend. Analysis of the trends in major domestic markets across different regions this week: The price of coke in China continued to fall this week. Currently, the price of grade 2 metallurgical coke slabs in Shanxi is around 1,350–1,400 yuan per ton, while the price of grade 1 metallurgical coke slabs is 1,500–1,550 yuan per ton. These prices have dropped by 50 yuan per ton compared to last week, and some coking enterprises have seen an increase in their inventory levels ； The ex-factory price of grade 1 metallurgical coke produced by coking enterprises in the Handan-Xingtai area of Hebei is 1,480–1,500 yuan per ton. Currently, in the North China and Northeast regions, the purchase price for grade 2 metallurgical coke at steel mills is between 1,550 and 1,600 yuan per ton, while the price for grade 1 metallurgical coke ranges from 1,650 to 1,700 yuan per ton. Some blast furnaces in Tangshan are undergoing maintenance (for example, one 2,560-ton capacity blast furnace at Tangsteel has been shut down for maintenance for about one and a half months), which has led to a reduction in coke consumption. In the East China market, the ex-plant price of secondary metallurgical coke in Shandong and Anhui provinces is between 1,450 and 1,500 yuan per ton. Steel mills in East China typically purchase it at a price of 1,550 to 1,600 yuan per ton. In order to control production costs, some manufacturers increase the use of lower-quality compacted coke, whose price at the factory is between 1,300 and 1,350 yuan per ton. In the central and western regions, the ex-factory price of secondary metallurgical coke in Henan, Shaanxi, and Ningxia ranges from 1,250 to 1,350 yuan per ton, while in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan it is between 1,150 and 1,300 yuan per ton. Sales pressure has increased, and some manufacturers have extended the coking time from around 20 hours earlier on to 40–50 hours. Currently, in the central and southern regions, the purchase price for secondary metallurgical coke at steel mills is between 1,500 and 1,550 yuan per ton, while the price for primary metallurgical coke is around 1,600 yuan per ton; in most cases, existing inventory is used for these purchases. On the export front, this week domestic grade-1 metallurgical coke (ash content