DAILY: China's met coke prices set for further rise as demand climbs

China's metallurgical coke market is expected to witness another bout of price increases in the near term, following the one materialized on April 20. Despite uncertainties over steelmakers' attitude, the anticipated new price hike is likely to gain momentum from pre-holiday restocking demand, tight coke availability and cost support from firming coal prices.

Mysteel's assessment of the national quasi-first-grade met coke price for dry-quenching type stayed flat on day at Yuan 1,623.6/tonne ($238/t) on April 21, while the same grade for wet-quenching type inched up by Yuan 1.1/t to Yuan 1,472.7/t, both including the 13% VAT. Met coke prices generally stabilized across the