DAILY: China's met coke market to soften, outlook negative

China's spot metallurgical coke market is poised to retreat, as leading Chinese steelmakers are expected to join the ranks after some northern mills demanded Yuan 50-55/tonne ($7.3-8/t) cuts on their met coke purchasing prices on March 4. However, pressures for the market may persist even after this bout of price reductions, sources shared.

Mysteel's assessments for China's quasi-first-grade met coke prices for wet- and dry-quenching types on March 5 both stood flat from a day earlier at Yuan 1,427.9/t and Yuan 1,569.8/t, including the 13% VAT, respectively. A main driver of the anticipated market downturn is the lower operation rates at blast furnaces