CRU: Uncertainty Returns Due to Mixed Supply Indicators, Import Restrictions on Coking Coal

By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh, from CRU’s Raw Materials Monitor

In the past week the coking coal market was characterized by mixed signals, keeping buyers cautious. We heard from a few sources that restrictions on coal intakes at major Chinese ports of Caofeidian and Jingtang could return soon. Currently there is no confirmation of whether these restrictions are being applied officially, but as we have seen in the past, customs clearance times for certain buyers could be extended or cargoes could only be allowed to clear on a case-by-case basis. This, coupled with the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays in China, is causing Chinese buyers to withdraw from the seaborne market, for now. Coke stocks at Chinese mills have climbed even further w/w, indicating the peak of pre-Lunar New Year restocking.