According to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, in early March, production by key monitored coal enterprises reached 64.44 million mt, with daily average production of 6.44 million mt. The 10-day daily average increased by 380,000 mt, up 6.3% MoM from late February, and by 90,000 mt, up 1.4% YoY.

[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Daily Brief Review] In terms of supply, coking costs increased and losses widened somewhat. At present, coke producers were barely maintaining normal operating rates, while coke production remained temporarily stable. Meanwhile, downstream demand for coke increased, and coke producers' shipments improved somewhat. On the demand side, steel mills were in an active phase of resuming production, while finished steel prices fluctuated upward and steel mill profitability improved somewhat, boosting production enthusiasm and increasing demand for coke. In summary, the fundamentals of coke supply and demand developed in a positive direction, and the coke market may remain generally stable with slight rise in the short term.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, coking costs at coke producers increased, profit per mt of coke narrowed somewhat, and coke producer inventories still needed to be drawn down, weighing on their production enthusiasm. However, downstream demand improved somewhat, and coke producers were actively making shipments. Demand side, the country's important meetings have concluded, and blast furnaces previously subject to production restrictions resumed production one after another, increasing rigid demand for coke. However, uncertainty still remained in finished steel consumption, and most steel mills remained cautious in their coke procurement. In summary, the supply-demand imbalance in the coke market eased somewhat, and cost support strengthened. In the short term, the coke market may temporarily remain stable.

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) updated its 2026 coal production target to 733 million tonnes, up from earlier estimates of a 600 million tonne cap. The revision aims to balance global supply security with price stability as Southeast Asian demand for industrial coal remains high.

[SMM Hydrogen Energy Bulletin] Recently, Aerospace Engineering Co. received encouraging news in the field of green hydrogen engineering technology. The company successively signed two major green hydrogen engineering projects: the hydrogen production by water electrolysis project for the hydrogen refueling station of Zhongqing Energy Development (Shandong) Co., Ltd., and the electrolytic hydrogen production unit project for the Inner Mongolia Fenglu Green Hydrogen-Coupled Coal-to-Olefins Project. For these two projects, Aerospace Engineering Co. will provide a total of 16 sets of HTJSDJ-1000/1.6 alkaline electrolyzers, along with supporting post-treatment systems and utility engineering equipment, and will be responsible for the engineering design. This cooperation marked that Aerospace Engineering Co. achieved simultaneous breakthroughs in the two major fields of green transportation and green hydrogen chemicals.

21 Feb 2026, India and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at securing long-term supplies of iron ore and metallurgical coal. The partnership focuses on stabilizing supply chains for Indian mills as they target massive capacity expansions of up to 300 MTPA by 2030