Record-high coking coal prices have been pressuring steelmakers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), mainly in Ukraine, because of a dependence on imports, sources told Fastmarkets.
Global coking coal prices have been
trending upward since October 2020, when the Chinese government imposed a ban on Australian materials.
Fastmarkets' index for
premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang - the indicator for the global market - was at an average of $606.67 per tonne in October to date,a 4.5-fold increase compared with the average in October 2020, when it was at $134.30 per tonne.
Ukraine
"We are reducing [pig iron] production due to a lack of coking coal supply," one steelmaker from Ukraine said. "The push effect from the cost side is huge - coke and gas prices are skyrocketing. We expect the [pig iron] market will increase by a minimum of 10%. The prices of semifinished products are also jumping."
In January-August 2021, Ukrainian coking plants received 9.63 million tonnes of coking coal, down by 1.1% year on year, the country's national steel union, Ukrmetallurgprom,...