DAILY: China's spot coking coal levels out, futures surge

China's spot coking coal prices showed signs of leveling out on January 6, as many coal miners stopped slashing their prices for the steelmaking raw material. Meanwhile, Dalian's coking coal futures posted strong gains overnight with the buoyant financial market, although the outlook for the near-term spot market remained gloomy, Mysteel learned.

Mysteel's assessment of the national composite coking coal price settled at Yuan 1,249.6/tonne ($178.9/t) including the 13% VAT on Tuesday, shedding a smaller Yuan 2.7/t compared with a daily decline of Yuan 6.4/t recorded on Monday. Survey results in Shanxi, the country's largest coal production province, sent a clear signal