DAILY: Trade stalemate drags down China's coking coal prices

China's coking coal market continued its downward revisions on November 17, dragged by a persistent trading stalemate as buyers turned more cautious in restocking the feed coal. The national composite coking coal price under Mysteel's assessment lost a larger Yuan 1.5/tonne ($0.2/t) from the last session, settling at Yuan 1,404.6/t including 13% VAT.

End-buyers were heard staying on the sidelines, and independent coke producers also remained disinterested in taking additional coal since many remained unprofitable even after the latest coke price hikes of Yuan 50-55/t took effect last Saturday, Mysteel learned from sources. The prevalent concerns over the steel market – with foreseeable