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Shanxi Linfen coking coal prices drop amid weak demand

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Publish time: 1st July, 2015      Source: www.cnchemicals.com
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Producers in Linfen, one major coking coal production base in southwestern Shanxi province, have cut coking coal prices by 5-20 yuan/t from July 1, sources confirmed, as downstream coking plants continued to press down prices following a 10 yuan/t drop on coke prices.One source with a Linfen-based washing plant said neighboring coking plants asked for a 10 yuan/t cut for locally-produced primary coking coals, and 20 yuan/t drop for 1/3 coking coals and lean coals, which haven’t been finalized yet.The ex-washplant price of washed primary coking coal with 0.5% sulphur and G value 65 presently stood at 600 yuan/t with VAT, said the source.One local miner cut the price of primary coking coal with 0.36% sulphur and G value 85 by 5 yuan/t from June to 665 yuan/t on July 1, with the possibility of further reducing by 5 yuan/t in the short run.“Coking plants may stop buying if we keep prices steady,” said the miner. “Our mine is running in full capacity.”Compared with Linfen, coking coal prices in Luliang -- another major production base of Shanxi -- were roughly steady recently.One local miner said raw coking coal prices, which are now at around 340 yuan/t with VAT on mine-mouth basis, may increase 5-10 yuan/t in July, thanks to active buying.A second Luliang-based miner said truck freight from Luliang to Hebei was stable at 220 yuan/t, partly supported by road maintenance.Shanxi Coking Coal Group -- China’s largest metallurgical coal producer – is likely to maintain prices stable in July amid low stocks. Some end users said the miner intended to increase its 1.5% sulphur washed primary coking coal by 10 yuan/t, but may not materialize, given the current bearishness in steel market.Sources from large steel mills generally expected coking coal prices to be stable in July. The billet price in Tangshan has dropped around 150 yuan/t since June, hitting 1,820 yuan/t on June 30.Downstream steel market showed no sign of improvements, and some steel mills planned to start maintenance and control output amid losses and high stocks.