WEEKLY: Stocks of Chinese coke makers decline further

Total stocks of metallurgical coke at the 230 Chinese independent coking plants that Mysteel regularly tracks declined during the week to as of March 27, falling by another 29,600 tonnes or 4% on week to reach 696,900 tonnes and made for the fifth straight on-week drop. The decline reflected the slight increase of coke buying interest among steelmakers during the survey week as some ramped up their steel production further, sources explained.

Chinese blast furnace steelmakers continued to raise production this week, encouraged by a further recovery in steel demand from end-users and the improvement in their margins, Mysteel's latest survey showed. During March 21-27, the combined daily hot metal production of the 247 Chinese steelmakers Mysteel regularly tracks had climbed by 10,200