In the second of this two-part feature, Metal Bulletin looks at the developments in the coking coal market since September 2016, a time period when prices for the steelmaking raw material experienced extreme swings.
Between November 2013 - when Metal Bulletin's fob Australia Premium Hard Coking Coal Index was launched - and August 2016, the month-on-month change in the index's average was mostly around 10% and below, with the exception of that for the final month, which was as high as 20%. In contrast, the monthly average of prices for premium hard coking coal from September 2016 to April 2018 moved by as much as 66% from one month to another.September 2016-Present: Above $150 The Chinese government's 13th five-year plan for the 2016-2020 period set in motion a watershed moment for China's steel industry, and in turn, the coking coal market. The country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) identified the need to address overcapacity in the country's steel and coal sectors. It laid out plans to step up environmental governance, emphasizing on the transformation of industries such as steel that had consistently failed...