DAILY: China's met coke market gains positive momentum

Positive signals for China's metallurgical coke market strengthened on August 17, underpinned by recovering underlying demand from prior lows and a sharp surge in cost support. Nevertheless, the near-term price direction for met coke remains clouded by uncertainty, as domestic steelmakers continue to resist higher raw material costs.

Mysteel Coke Index (MCI) CDQ, which tracks China's national dry-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke prices, stayed unchanged from the last session at Yuan 1,838.7/tonne ($272.7/t) on Monday, while the MCI CWQ for wet-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke also stood flat at Yuan 1,695/t. Sources indicate that some steel producers initiated a fresh