DAILY: China's coking coal prices rebound, yet uncertainty remains

China's coking coal market extended its rebound on October 16, with improving sentiment rippling into the coke sector as loss-making producers weigh potential price hikes. However, this optimism was checked later that day when regulators pushed for accelerated mine restarts in the country's coking coal heartlands, providing a direct counterbalance to the tight supply outlook.

Mysteel Coking Coal Index (MCCI), which tracks coking coal prices nationwide in China, stood at Yuan 2,039.9/tonne ($304.5/t) including the 13% VAT last Friday, up Yuan 2.2/t from Thursday. In North China' Shanxi province, Mysteel recorded broad-based price increases across five coking coal grades on Friday, with no declines reported.