UPDATE 1-Chinese steel, coke prices rise after North Korea coal...

UPDATE 1-Chinese steel, coke prices rise after North Korea coal ban

February 19, 2017, 08:59:00 PM EDT By Reuters





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(Adds analyst quote, rebar prices)
BEIJING, Feb 20 (Reuters) - China's steel, coke and coking
coal futures rose on Monday after Beijing suspended imports of
North Korean coal as part of its efforts to implement United
Nations sanctions against the country. [nL4N1G3074]
The most-active May futures for rebar, a steel
product used in construction, rose 2.7 percent by 0155 GMT.
Futures contracts for coke and coking coal ,
used in steel production, were up 2.3 percent and 2.4 percent
respectively.
"Rebar jumped on anticipation that the ban on North Korean
anthracite could lead to higher costs for steel mills that will
struggle to find cheaper alternatives in the domestic market,"
said Zhang Min, a coal analyst based in Zibo, Shandong with
Sublime Information Group.
China would stop all imports of coal from North Korea from
Sunday, the country's commerce ministry said in a notice posted
on its website on Saturday. The ban on the isolated country's
biggest export will be in place until Dec. 31.
The move came a week after Pyongyang tested an
intermediate-range ballistic missile, its first direct challenge
to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump
took office on Jan. 20. [nL4N1FZ21Y]
North Korea was China's fourth-biggest supplier of coal last
year, with imports of anthracite, a high-quality coal used to
make coke, a key ingredient in steelmaking, reaching 22.48
million tonnes, up 14.5 percent from 2015. [COAL/CN]

($1 = 6.8640 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Josephine Mason and Meng Meng; Editing by Richard
Pullin)
(([email protected]; +86 10 66271210; Reuters
Messaging: [email protected]))

Keywords: CHINA COAL/NORTHKOREA (UPDATE 1)


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