WEEKLY: Chinese coke producers' stockpiles swell as sales slow

Metallurgical coke stockpiles at Chinese coke producers surged in the past week, as trading liquidity slowed amid steelmakers' curtailed procurement of this feed material while coke production remained largely steady. This shift in underlying fundamentals is driving coke prices into a downside trajectory.

According to Mysteel's survey, met coke stocks held by the 230 independent coke firms stayed elevated for a month and increased by 4.9% from a week earlier to hit 753,800 tonnes as of July 23. The inventory level also surpassed the year-ago reading by a substantial 35.7%. The accumulating stocks