The overall operation of the coking industry from Jan. to Oct.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with the continuous deepening of the supply-side structural reform, the overall operation of the coking industry has shown a trend of declining volume, rising price and steady and moderate development since the beginning of this year. The main performances are as follows several characteristics:

First, coke output continued to decline. The cumulative volume of coke output was 359.53 million tons in the first ten months of 2018, down 1% year on year. It is estimated that China's coke output will reach 430 million tons in 2018.

Second, the coke prices fluctuated and increased. The average price of secondary metallurgical coke was 2047 yuan /mt, up 13.2% year on year. And coke prices have reversed the continuous decline, rebounded and increased since May,2018.

Third, the coke export volume and prices increased. China's total export of coke was 7.76 million tons in the first ten months of 2018, up 27.6% year on year. The export value was 15.25 billion yuan, up 41.8% year on year. And the average export price was 1965 yuan / mt, up 11.0% year-on-year. It is estimated that the annual export of coke will be around 9 million tons.

Fourth, the prices of coke by-products were mixed. According to estimates by the China Coking Industry Association, the output of coal tar, the main by-product of coke, was 14.35 million tons in the first ten months of 2018, down 1.0% year on year. And the output of crude benzene was 3.78 million tons in the first ten months of 2018, down 1.0% year on year. The average price of coal tar was 3,282 yuan /mt, up 20.9% year on year.  And the average price of crude benzene was 5,002 yuan /mt, down 1.9% year on year.