Dalian coking coal at over 3-month high as rains disrupt supply

BEIJING: Dalian coking coal futures climbed on Wednesday to their highest levels in more than three months, as supply in northern China was disrupted by the worst storms in more than a decade.

The most-traded September coking coal futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was up 4% at 1,537.5 yuan per metric ton, the highest since April 20, as of 0237 GMT, while coke rose nearly 2.5%.

“The evident price gain in the coal market is because the transport capacity has been adversely affected by the recent floods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,” said Cheng Peng, a Beijing-based analyst at Sinosteel Futures.

“Coking coal transport relies on truck, and therefore was influenced. But impact should be temporary.”