DAILY: China's met coke market awaits direction, headwinds remain

China's metallurgical coke market was stuck in a stalemate on July 3, awaiting clearer direction from ongoing price negotiations between coke producers and steelmakers. Market expectations for further price hikes turned relatively bearish.

Mysteel Coke Index (MCI) CDQ, which tracks China's national dry-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke prices, was flat on day at Yuan 2,000.3/tonne ($295/t) last Friday, while the MCI CWQ for wet-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke also stood still at Yuan 1,836/t, both including VAT. On Friday, major coke producers initiated further Yuan