Thermal Coal

Production area Thermal coal prices remained broadly stable in key mining hubs, with some mines cutting or raising prices by about 10 yuan/t. More mines halted production for maintenance after completing their annual targets, which, coupled with longwall moves at a few other mines, tightened regional supply. Yet, those still in operation reported smooth sales and low inventories, with only certain grades facing slow sales. Mine-mouth prices are expected to remain rangebound in the near term.

Northern Port Declines in portside prices moderated amid improved inquiries and a narrowed increase in inventories. Rail inflows to major northern ports slowed due to bloated inventories. Coastal power plants' coal burns increased, releasing staged restocking demand. This prompted inquiries and narrowed the decline for some low-sulfur, high-quality grades. Prices are likely to stabilize in the near term, though high inventories and potentially strong production in January may still make a rebound unlikely.

Import Market Continued declines in Chinese domestic coal prices and stabilized imported low-CV grades resulted in a near 20 yuan/t decline in the price advantage of Indonesian 3,800 Kcal/kg NAR coal to 9.39 yuan/t compared to domestic equivalents on December 26. Prices for imported high-CV cargoes decreased in line with domestic prices. Australian 5,500 Kcal/kg NAR coal was about 38.30 yuan/t cheaper than the domestic comparable, narrowing by 2.70 yuan/t.

Coking Coal

More mines suspended production after completing their annual targets, which is expected to further tighten supply in the near term. Amid expectations of potential further coke price cuts, sentiment in both the coking coal and coke markets remained weak. Coking plants largely maintained need-based procurement, resulting in tepid transactions and more price declines than increases. The near-term market is projected to soften further.

China's Ganqimaodu border port was closed today for Mongolia's National Liberation and Independence Day and will resume operations tomorrow. Sellers firmed up their offers, while buyers remained reluctant, leading to sparse transactions. Mongolian 5# raw coal was at about 970-1,000 yuan/t, ex-stock with VAT.

Met Coke

With feed coal costs dipping further, cokemakers, in manageable losses, kept normal operations, ensuring relatively stable coke output. Despite almost depleted molten iron inventories, steel mills have yet to resume large-scale production, leading to a slow rebound in molten iron output and continued low coke consumption. However, some mills cancelled controls on coke arrivals as coke prices dropped to low levels, helping to recover sales at coking plants.