Reduced purchases from coking plants and traders slightly drove down online transactions of coking coal across China's main production areas, marked by narrowed premiums of settlements and higher failure rates.

Premium coking coal grades experienced continued and strong demand, yet blending grades saw weaker demand due to their lower proportion in blending and softened thermal coal prices.

On November 12, one Luliang-based miner in Shanxi put 3,000 tonnes of raw meager coal (S 2.95%, A 30%, GRI 57) for auction with a starting price of 596 yuan/t, down from 616 yuan/t in the last session on November 10. The deal failed to reach a deal.

An auction of 10,000 tonnes of coking coal (S 0.4%, A 4%, GRI 15) in Yulin of Shaanxi started at 700 yuan/t on the same day and completely closed at 703-710 yuan/t, down 15 yuan/t from 716-727 yuan/t in the last trade prices on November 9.

Even so, backbone coking coal grades still saw robust price growth amid strong demand. A handful of miners in Luliang of Shanxi adjusted up low-sulfur primary coking coal (S 1%, A 11%, GRI 80) by 80 yuan/t to 1,680 yuan/t, ex-washplant with VAT, with accumulative rise since October to 180 yuan/t, as local supplies was constrained by longwall changes.

A 40 yuan/t price hike was also observed for low-sulfur primary coking coal (S 0.5%, GRI 80-85) in Anze of Linfen, also in Shanxi, with final prices at 1,710 yuan/t, ex-washplant with VAT and in cash, adding the cumulative rise since last month to 170 yuan/t.

The strong momentum was mainly supported by regional supply issues since not only local mines but mines in nearby Guxian county were disrupted by longwall changes. This, combined with upward price adjustments from mines in surrounding mines, resulted in higher offers in Anze.

Most miners also said they are not in a rush to lower prices, and would like to wait for clearer market clues. "We have no immediate plans to adjust prices, and we still hold 30,000 tonnes of washed coking coal in hand," said one large coal miners in Xiangning country in Shanxi.

One trader in Shanxi noted that though the coking coal market showed signs of weakening as the mood among traders shifted. They expected a small price correction in the coming weeks, but any downsides will likely be limited.

The weaker futures market in recent days was also a drag to coking coal prices. On November 12, the most active coking coal and met coke futures contract for January 2026 delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the daytime session 1.65% and 1.45% lower from a day ago at 1,221.5 yuan/t and 1,697.5 yuan/t.

On the same day, the CCI index for Shanxi low-sulfur primary coking coal was at 1,688 yuan/t, ex-washplant with VAT, rising 31 yuan/t from the day-ago level. CCI indexes for mid- and high-sulfur primary coking coal also stood unchanged at 1,420 yuan/t and 1,403 yuan/t, respectively.