Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Tuesday August 13, though Chinese market participants remained bearish about the market.
Buyer and trader sources in the country cited weak downstream markets, ample supply and import restrictions on coal at Chinese ports as the main reasons for their pessimistic outlook for prices over the next few weeks."The margins for steel mills in China have narrowed considerably. Some of them in [the provinces of] Shandong and Shanxi are looking to cut production to prop up steel prices," a trader said."In such a scenario, it...