Met coke prices treble in 6 months on China curb

Met coke (9-13 per cent ash content), which makes up for about 60 per cent of the raw material cost of pig iron manufacturing and 50 per cent of steel making, is now quoted at $875 per tonne (about Rs 36,000).  This is a dramatic rise in prices, which were ruling around $300 six months ago. The domestic variety of met coke, which has a high ash content of 24-35 per cent, is sold at Rs 9,000-15,000.  The pig iron producers have been pushed to the edge as independent steel-makers have switched to sponge iron, which are priced lower. Pig iron, having 92 per cent iron content, is currently priced at Rs 32,000 a tonne, while sponge iron, with 86 per cent iron content, is sold around Rs 25,000-26,000.  According to analysts, China has cut output by 72 per cent to avoid adding more polluting gases to its environment.  Further, in response to India's 15 per cent ad valorem export levy on iron ore, China is likely to raise coke export duty to 30 per cent from the existing 25 per cent.  "But once the Olympic Games, to be held between August 8 and 24, are over, China's coke producers would resume operations and prices will cool down," said N Mohapatra of KIC Metaliks, one of the country's leading pig iron producers.  The demand for met coke in China