SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (SMM) - As August is drawing to an end, SMM reviews the petroleum coke price change in August and finds that the prices generally declined over the month, fluctuating within a narrow range. Specifically, the average price of SMM 2# petroleum coke stood at 6,016 yuan/mt, down 186 yuan/mt on the monthy; that of SMM 3# petroleum coke was 4,090 yuan/ton, down 211 yuan/ton; and that of SMM high-sulphur petroleum coke rose 104 yuan/mt to 2,746 yuan/mt.
On the supply side, Haike Ruilin Chemical resumed the production in August; the petroleum coke output of Shida Technology was reduced to 500mt/day; Dongfang Hualong Group have suspended the operation for maintenance since August 23. In addition, some smelters in Shandong also cut their production for the reasons of profits and tax issues.
The inventory at Rizhao Port rose from 867,000 mt in early August to 961,800 mt as of August 26, with a net increase of 94,800 mt. In addition, customs data shows that China imported 909,100 mt of petroleum coke in July, a month-on-month decrease of 31.8% and a year-on-year decline of 6.07%.
On the whole, the demand for petroleum coke in August was weak, and most smelters maintained inventory at medium or low levels. The daily shipments from ports were 2,000-3,000 mt, which was 1/5 of the level in peak season. The supply is sufficient while the demand was sluggish, thus the petroleum coke prices remained rangebound. SMM believes that in the upcoming September, the downstream consumption will hardly change in that the domestic petroleum coke prices are already higher than the levels in previous years. The carbon plants are expected to purchase as needed in order to maintain normal production. With the price difference between domestic and overseas markets narrowing, the domestic and foreign prices will be inverted, and traders are likely to hold back from purchasing overseas petroleum coke. In this case, SMM expects that the petroleum coke prices will drop further though the drop might be slight.
