WEEKLY: China's met coke fundamentals tend to loosen

China's met coke fundamentals softened this week from earlier tightness, driven by slower purchases from steel mills and a slight increase in coke production. This shift has eroded coke producers' bargaining power through the week, putting the tenth bout of coke price hikes on hold.

Domestic coke production gathered pace marginally as lower feed coal prices eased producers' cost burdens and enabled some profit room, market sources noted. According to Mysteel's survey, the daily met coke output of the sampled 230 independent coke plants picked up by 0.28% on week to average 507,100 tonnes/day over