China’s North Korean ban catches coal markets off guard
Few mills or traders anticipated the complete suspension of imports, which came a week after Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile
Beijing — China’s steel mills and traders were scrambling to find alternative supplies of coking coal for steel making on Monday, after Beijing slapped a surprise ban on coal imports from its isolated northern neighbour. Chinese prices of steel, coking coal and coke all rallied, as traders and analysts said mills were likely to be forced to buy more expensive domestic material or seek alternatives further afield from Russia or Australia, driving up costs. While North Korea accounts for only a small portion of China’s total coal imports, it is the main foreign supplier of high-quality thermal coal, called anthracite, which is used to make coke, a key ingredient in steelmaking. "This news really took us by surprise. We are looking at a couple of alternative plans," said a steel mill purchasing manager, based in the northern province of Liaoning. These included buying anthracite from Shanxi province or buying more coke from local providers, but both were more costly, said the manager, ...
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