[SMM Daily Brief Review on Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, most coke producers still faced slight losses, suppressing their willingness to increase production, and overall supply remained temporarily stable. Meanwhile, shipments from coke producers improved, and coke inventory continued to destock. Demand side, blast furnaces at steel mills resumed operations and production, and hot metal production is expected to increase. In addition, steel mill profits improved somewhat, and finished steel shipments recovered, boosting steel mills' production enthusiasm. However, downstream buyers mostly maintained just-in-time procurement and lacked willingness to purchase for restocking. In summary, the supply-demand imbalance in the coke fundamentals still existed, and the coke market may remain stable next week.

This week, ferrous metals fluctuated at highs, with raw material ore and coking products outperforming steel. Against the backdrop of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, ore and coking products held up well, supported by higher shipping costs and transmission from coal and coke as energy substitutes. In the second half of the week, supply and demand data for hot-rolled coil and rebar were released. The increase in rebar inventory slowed markedly; however, hot-rolled coil demand was lower than the same period last year, and the pace of post-holiday recovery was relatively slow, leaving steel as a whole with limited upward momentum, while futures retreated after rapid rise. In the spot market, trading in the Chinese market was average this week.....

[SMM Hydrogen Energy Express] On March 16, Zhongxin Nenghua conducted an inquiry-based procurement for the feasibility study of the Duolun Coal Chemical coal-based process biomass co-firing coupled with green electricity for green methanol production project, as well as technical consulting services for green methanol certification. The principal entity was Datang Inner Mongolia Duolun Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. It was understood that the Datang Duolun 150,000 kW wind and solar power hydrogen production integration demonstration project was China’s first medium-to-large-scale scientific and technological demonstration project for deep coupling of off-grid wind and solar power hydrogen production with coal chemical engineering. The project was invested in and constructed by Datang Duolun Ruiyuan New Energy Co., Ltd., with a total investment of approximately 1.3 billion yuan. Construction officially commenced in November 2023, construction officially commenced in November 2023, hydrogen was successfully produced on December 29, 2024, and the project was officially connected to the grid and put into operation on January 17, 2025.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, after the Two Sessions concluded, operating rates at coke producers increased somewhat, and shipments improved. Inventory pressure eased for most coke producers, with supply remaining stable while increasing slightly. Demand side, blast furnaces in Hebei resumed operations and production, and hot metal production is expected to increase. In addition, steel mill profits improved somewhat, and finished steel shipments picked up, boosting steel mills' production enthusiasm and strengthening their purchase willingness for coke. Overall, coke fundamentals improved, but the market remains in a wait-and-see mode, and the coke market may remain stable in the short term.

SMM News: As of March 20, 2026, the market price for Praseodymium-Neodymium (Pr-Nd) metal in China stabilized temporarily at 890,000–910,000 RMB/ton. This article utilizes the SMM Pr-Nd Terminal Demand Calculation Model to dissect the demand logic for 2026 across three core sectors—New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, and Wind Power—explaining the current supply-demand dilemma facing the NdFeB magnet and broader Pr-Nd markets.

[SMM Hydrogen Energy Flash] Recently, the Green Hydrogen Engineering Technology segment of Aerospace Engineering received a series of good news, successfully signing contracts for two major green hydrogen engineering projects. One is the water electrolysis hydrogen production project for the hydrogen refueling station of Zhongqing Energy Development (Shandong) Co., Ltd., and the other is the electrolytic hydrogen production unit project for the Inner Mongolia Baofeng green hydrogen-coupled coal-to-olefins project. Aerospace Engineering will provide a total of 16 sets of HTJSDJ-1000/1.6 alkaline electrolyzers for these two projects, as well as supporting post-processing systems, utility engineering equipment, and engineering design services. This signing marked Aerospace Engineering’s simultaneous breakthroughs in the two major fields of green transportation and green hydrogen chemical engineering.

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.