Thermal coal

Production area Thermal coal prices were stable as a whole in major production areas, but price adjustments were also heard at a few mines. More mines halted or cut production upon completion of their monthly output targets, leading to a contraction of supply. Some miners struck a balance between production and sales, thanks to stable delivery of term-contract coal, resilient demand from chemical and metallurgical plants. However, dispatches slowed at some other mines after more traders and washing plants shifted to a wait-and-see stance, prompting them to lower prices by 10-20 yuan/t in response.

Northern port The portside thermal coal market remained weak. Transactions were relatively low as downstream users continued to press down prices with lukewarm demand. However, some participants expected the further downward space for prices to be limited, as supply is anticipated to narrow due to accident-induced frequent safety checks at mining areas and rising coal consumption at power plants as temperature falls.

Import market The imported coal market was stable. Foreign miners' offer prices remained firm, and inquiries from downstream users slightly increased. Participants noted elevated import cost caused by rise in seaborne freight rate and a lack of arbitrage room for importers because of lower tender-awarded prices by Chinese utilities.

Coking coal

Coking coal supply in Shanxi was hard to recover with many mines in suspension due to accidents and tightened safety inspections. In addition, a 2-Mtpa coal mine in Heilongjiang province was suspended following a major accident. Coking plants maintained active demand encouraged by slightly improved profit after the second coke price hike. Online auctions of major coking coal miners in Shanxi mostly settled at higher prices, with some deals of low-sulfur primary coking coal even hitting a new high so far in the year. Rigid demand from coking plants and steel mills is expected to continue to keep coking coal prices buoyed in the near term.

The daily Mongolian coal imports rebounded to a high level through China's Ganqimaodu border port, with 1,148 trucks of coal passing through on November 29. Short-haul transportation fee continued to rise, prompting some traders to further raise prices. The long-term prices of Mongolian 5# raw coking coal stood at 1,680-1,730 yuan/t, ex-stock with VAT, while auction prices of premium grades were 1,780-1,800 yuan/t.

Met coke

Coke prices rose by totaling 200-220 yuan/t after completing the second round of price hike. The continued uptrend in coking coal prices elevated coke-making costs, prompting some loss-suffering coking plants to further curtail production. As a result, the overall coke supply declined. Coke stocks fell to low-to-medium levels at steel mills as a whole. Some low-stocked mills have been in a hurry to restock, while some have built stocks to safe levels after accepting the second coke price hike. The coke supply-demand fundamental is expected to remain strong in the near term.