DAILY: China's fifth met coke price hikes materialize; outlook clouded

China's fifth round of metallurgical coke price hikes took effect on September 10, bringing cumulative gains to Yuan 450-495/tonne ($67.1-73.8/t) since late August. However, the market outlook remains clouded as support from both upstream and downstream sectors has weakened.

On Thursday, Mysteel Coke Index (MCI) CDQ, which tracks China's national dry-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke prices, climbed Yuan 107.7/t to Yuan 2,323.3/t, while the MCI CWQ for wet-quenched quasi-first-grade met coke rose Yuan 90.4/t to Yuan 2,126.3/t. Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS) and Rizhao Steel Holding Group (Rizhao Steel),