As of Friday morning, some Chinese steelmakers in North China's Shanxi, Hebei and Tianjin and a leading maker in East China's Shandong were heard to have accepted the third round of coke purchase price hikes by another Yuan 100-110/tonne ($14.5-16/t) effective today, sources shared.

On July 27, China's national composite coke price under Mysteel's assessment rose by Yuan 3/t on day to Yuan 1,981.8/t and including the 13% VAT.

The partial acceptance of higher coke prices was mainly driven by steel mills' quite steady demand for coke and their eagerness to expedite coke deliveries. Market insiders predict that more mills across China will soon follow suit, particularly those mills with low material inventory.

Besides, China's ferrous market outlook appears to be sanguine, as the country's National Administration of Financial Regulation stated its commitment to enhance financial support for critical consumer sectors to bolster the commodities consumption.

Furthermore, more fresh stimulus measures for the domestic real estate sector will benefit steel-intensive industries and potentially buoy China's steel prices.

China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment has been consistently strengthening for eight consecutive days as of July 27 to Yuan 3,897/t including the 13% VAT.

However, it is worth noting that while steel prices are gradually improving, coke producers are still grappling with persistently high cost burdens. Some coke makers have even reduced coke deliveries to mills, waiting for higher prices and better profits.

"The prices of key steelmaking ingredient will gain more upward momentum soon along with the bullish market outlook," a Shanghai-based analyst predicts.

Mysteel's survey showed that prevailing offers for quasi-first-grade met coke produced in Shanxi were stable on day at Yuan 1,780-1,900/t as of July 27. The first-grade coke prices were also unchanged at Yuan 1,850-1,960/t, on an EXW basis and including the 13% VAT by the same day.

Today, trading mood and spot prices were stable too at Rizhao port and Qingdao port in East China's Shandong province. Prices for quasi-first-grade coke with a maximum of 13% ash, 0.7% sulfur, and at least 60% CSR remained stable at Yuan 2,120/t on an EXW basis and including the 13% VAT.

Coke stocks at these two ports totalled 1.68 million tonnes as of July 28, down by 80,000 tonnes on week, according to Mysteel's database.

The above content is excerpted from：https://www.mysteel.net/market-insights/all/5041427-daily-some-steel-mills-accept-3rd-coke-price-hikes-market-outlook-bullish-