Operation of Coking Industry in the First Half of 2019

In the first half of 2019, the coking industry showed a general trend of increasing volume and price, steadily and steadily, and its profit continued to improve, mainly manifested in the following characteristics.

Firstly, the output increased steadily. In the first half of this year, coke production increased due to the increase of market demand and other factors. The coke output of key iron and steel enterprises is 0.555 billion tons, an increase of 5.8%, and that of other coking enterprises is 179 million tons, an increase of 11.9%, according to the statistics of China Iron and Steel Industry Association.

Second, the volume of exports has fallen. In the first half of 2019, the export volume of coke (including semi-coke) in China continued to decrease, and the amount of export decreased significantly. The total export volume of coke in China was 38.46 million tons, down 19.7% from the same period last year, and the export amount was 7.72 billion yuan, down 17.7% from the same period last year. However, the average export price of coke in the same period was 207.3 CNY/ton, up 2.5% from the same period last year.

Third, price volatility is rising. In the first half of this year, driven by the coal and steel market, coke prices shook high. According to the statistics of China Coking Industry Association, the average price of secondary metallurgical coke is 1987.2 yuan per ton, up 4.1% year on year. Since May, coke prices have reversed their decline and rebounded upwards, rising to 2075.8 CNY/ton in June.

Fourth, the industry's earnings continued to improve. Since this year, coke prices have been running at a high level, and the economic benefits of the industry have continued to improve. Taking Shanxi Province as an example, from January to May, the main business income of coking industry was 81.87 billion yuan, an increase of 15.4% over the same period of last year, and the profit was 4.26 billion yuan, an increase of 17% over the same period of last year.