DAILY: China's first met coke hike materializes; second swiftly follows

China's metallurgical coke market firmed further on Monday, with the first round of price hikes taking effect and a second round swiftly gaining acceptance from some steel mills. Elevated coal costs and tightening coke supply underpinned the uptrend, though tepid demand and weak steel margins are likely to limit further upside.

Mysteel Coke Index (MCI) CDQ, which tracks China's national dry-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke prices, climbed Yuan 53.9/tonne ($8.02/t) from last Friday to Yuan 1,892.6/t on Monday, while the MCI CWQ for wet-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke rose Yuan 45.2/t to Yuan 1,740.2/t. The gains reflected the implementation of the first round