China's domestic coking coal market weakened over the past month, with prices tumbling in late March before declining further in the weeks that followed after a period of relative stability due to softening downstream demand.
Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of domestic prices for hard coking coal in Shanxi delivered to Tangshan stood at 1,350-1,750 yuan ($214-277) per tonne last Friday April 20, compared with 1,500-1,940 yuan per tonne on March 16. Weak downstream demand has been cited as the key factor for the decline in the domestic coking coal spot market. Coke prices have been retreating since mid-March. For instance, east China's Rizhao Iron & Steel is now paying 1,700 yuan per tonne for materials with 57% coke strength after reaction (CSR) delivered to its facility after five...