DAILY: China's coking coal prices tick higher, gains slow

China's metallurgical coal prices have inched up for the seventh consecutive day as of December 5 amid constrained coal supplies and steady downstream demand, market sources said. But the pace of price growth has slowed as buyers exhibit reluctance to acquire expensive coal resources.

On Tuesday, the national composite coking coal price under Mysteel's assessment increased by Yuan 4.2/tonne ($0.6/t) on day to reach Yuan 2,149.8/t and including the 13% VAT. In particular, fat coal prices sustained strong rising momentum, up by Yuan 30-155/t on day in North China's Shanxi province, while upticks of