The third round of coke price reductions has been fully implemented, and it is expected to remain weak in the short term.

The third round of coke price reductions has fully materialized, with decreases of 50 yuan/ton for wet quenched coke and 55 yuan/ton for dry quenched coke. The core driving force behind this third round of price cuts remains the deepening of the "negative feedback" logic, where weak demand for finished steel has put pressure on steel mill profits. As a result, there has been an increase in blast furnace maintenance, leading to a continuous decline in molten iron production at steel mills, and marginal weakness in downstream raw material procurement. However, recently, the futures market has rebounded due to disturbances on the cost side and expectations of production cuts; the spot market has initiated the third round of price reductions under the profit pressure faced by steel mills. The overall market is in a downward trend, but the extent of the reductions is expected to gradually narrow. In summary, coke prices are expected to remain weak in the short term, and attention will need to be paid to the recovery of molten iron production and the operational status of coking plants in the future.