WEEKLY: China's met coke production slows on tightened coal supply

China's metallurgical coke production slowed slightly this week, mainly as tightening coal availability - driven by broad mine safety inspections across major coal hubs following a fatal gas explosion at a mine in Northwest China's Shanxi province - constrained feedstock supply temporarily while the surge in coal prices elevated coking costs and squeezed coke producers' profit margins.

Mysteel's survey indicated that during May 21-27, the daily met coke output of the sampled 230 independent coke plants nationwide decreased by 0.65% from a week earlier to reach 519,600 tonnes/day. The level was also 2.3% lower than a year prior. Sources disclosed that several coke plants had to curtail