BEIJING- Coking coal futures on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rose for a second day on Thursday, gaining as much as 2.6 percent in early trade, on lean supplies and high utilization rates at blast furnaces.
“The fourth-quarter is typically an off-peak season for (coking coal) supplies,” GF Futures wrote in a note, adding that purchases from Mongolia picked up after a suspension of Australian imports, although the absolute amount is not big.
Meanwhile, the first domestic transmission of the novel coronavirus in Mongolia also stoked concerns on customs clearances.
The most-traded coking coal futures, for February delivery, jumped 1.7 percent to 1,334 yuan ($201.55) a ton. It hit 1,345 yuan a ton earlier in the session.
Benchmark iron ore futures also extended gains into a fifth consecutive session on firm demand for steelmaking ingredients at mills.
The most-active January contract of iron ore climbed 1.6 percent to 848 yuan a ton.
