Thermal Coal

Production area Thermal coal prices stayed broadly stable in key mining hubs, while prices in Ordos softened further. A few mines halted or cut production after completing their annual output targets, tightening overall supply. Participants maintained need-based procurement. As a leading miner's purchase prices for third-party coal stabilized, some cost-effective mines reported a slight uptick in sales, with a few even tentatively lifting prices. Yet, traders largely stayed on the sidelines amid limited demand, resulting in sales pressure on certain grades and a subsequent retreat in prices.

Northern Port Portside market extended the downward trend. Although a few utilities issued tenders, most aimed to secure deeper discounts, leading transaction prices to fall further. Overall sentiment remained pessimistic, as unsmooth sales and poor liquidity pushed port inventories further higher. Some participants pinned hopes on potential initiative production cuts at mines or policy drives to stabilize the market.

Import Market Demand for imported mid- and high-CV coal remained tepid, leading prices to soften further. However, offers for low-CV grades gained modestly, backed by more short-covering and relatively tight Indonesian spot availability. Market participants were divided on the near-term outlook. Some anticipated a gradual stabilization as low-CV coal prices level off, while others expected the further downside space due to weak fundamentals.

Coking Coal

Mines in production regions prioritized safety measures by year-end, along with some that halted or reduced output after meeting their annual targets, tightened overall supply. Most coking plants have replenished stocks to comfortable levels and ceased further restocking, while middlemen adopted a wait-and-watch approach, worrying about potential risks. Transactions for backbone grades remained steady, supporting relatively firm prices. However, mines continued to cut prices for blending coal grades by 20-30 yuan/t due to high stock. Coking coal prices are expected to remain rangebound in the near term.

Coal truck passes through China's Ganqimaodu border port stayed high. Downstream buyers remained reluctant to purchase, making a few inquiries and resulting in sparse transactions. Mongolian 5# raw coal was at about 960-980 yuan/t, ex-stock with VAT.

Met Coke

Some steel mills kept molten iron output at low levels amid unstable finished steel prices, and control coke arrivals, providing only fragile support to coke prices. Most cokemakers remained at break-even points following the third round of coke price cut and sustained normal operations. This, paired with the easing of environmental warnings, slightly increased regional supply. Despite a slight uptick in coking coal transactions as coking plants engaged in restocking, overall market activity remained subdued, offering limited support to the coke market.