DAILY: China's coking coal market stays weak, outlook dim

China's spot coking coal market extended the weak run on February 26 due to tepid transactions and increased coal availability at major mining areas, and the market outlook is clouded by mandated blast furnace production cuts in northern steel mills starting next week.

On Thursday, Mysteel's assessment of the national composite coking coal price sat at Yuan 1,260.2/tonne ($184.2/t) including the 13% VAT, shedding Yuan 4.3/t from the last session. The coking coal supply-demand imbalance intensified further as the gradual resumption of coal miners after the Chinese New Year holiday boosted salable cargoes,