DAILY: China's coking coal futures slump as pressure remains

China's coking coal futures slumped on July 31, as near-term expectations weakened amid ongoing downstream production cuts and softer raw material demand from end-users. Market sentiment also took a hit from signs of recovering supply, with another mine in Qinyuan county, North China's Shanxi province, resuming operations.

Last Friday, the most-traded September coking coal contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 1,181/tonne ($174.9/t), down 4.4% from Thursday's settlement price. Sources reported that many market participants remained cautious toward the near-term outlook for coking coal, as both coke producers and steelmakers continued