The price of Chinese metallurgical coke continues to rise, evoking memories for some in the industry of a few years previous when the cost of a metric tonne of Chinese coke skyrocketed to around 500 dollars FOB. And some experts, while stopping short of predicting a return to such days of short supply, aren't ruling out a substantial increase in price in the coming months. The current price for 12.5 percent ash coke from China falls in the range of 260-285 dollars/tonne FOB China. The same quality of Chinese coke cost about 150 dollars/tonne at this time last year. If the U.S. steel business is strong in the second half of 2007, a considerable amount of Chinese coke could be needed. A very knowledgeable source said his estimate for U.S. imports of coke this year is 3 million tonnes or more.
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