【Petroleum Coke】Market Analysis on May 6

Calcined petroleum coke, with its high carbon content, low sulfur, and low impurities, plays a vital role in modern manufacturing, especially in the aluminum and steel industries.

【Petroleum Coke】Market Analysis on May 6

Analysis of China's Petroleum Coke Index

On May 6, China's mainstream petroleum coke 2#B index stood at 4170.0, up 40 from the previous working day; the 3#B price index was 3694, down 6.67 from yesterday; the high-sulfur coke market index was 2205; the 1# price index was 4900, up 15 from the previous working day; and the 2# price index was 45508.5.

Mainstream Regional Market Prices of Petroleum Coke in China

Today, China's petroleum coke market generally showed a weak but stable consolidation trend, with increasing divergence across regions and product specifications. Market trading performance varied, downstream buyers mainly maintained rigid demand procurement, and coke prices were adjusted according to market conditions, while cautious sentiment dominated the trading atmosphere.

From the supply side, among major state-owned refineries, Sinopec refineries maintained stable prices, though shipment pace at some plants slowed slightly. PetroChina's low-sulfur coke in Northeast China implemented new May pricing policies and actively signed orders to boost sales volume. CNOOC Taizhou and Zhoushan Petrochemical continued maintenance shutdowns, while prices at other refineries remained stable, leaving the overall supply structure relatively balanced.

Regarding local refineries, enterprises in Shandong and other regions prioritized shipment and inventory reduction, resulting in mixed price movements in transactions. During the holiday period, only limited imported coke arrived at ports and entered storage, while traders mainly fulfilled existing orders for shipment.

On the demand side, market performance remained moderate but cautious. The aluminum carbon market provided relatively stable support, and rising aluminum prices helped improve some trading sentiment; however, buyers still maintained a wait-and-see attitude toward high-priced petroleum coke feedstock. Graphite electrode producers continued operating at low utilization rates, mainly consuming previous raw material inventories, and only maintained cautious rigid-demand procurement of petroleum coke. Procurement demand for prebaked anode coke slowed, further limiting price adjustment momentum for high-sulfur coke in East China and other regions.

Mainstream Regional Market Prices of Petroleum Coke in China

Unit: RMB/ton

Mainstream Regional Market Prices of Calcined Petroleum Coke in China

Unit: RMB/ton

Mainstream Regional Market Prices of Calcined Petroleum Coke in China

Regarding domestic refineries, in the low-sulfur coke segment, major refineries will mainly continue executing existing order contracts in the short term. In addition, maintenance shutdowns at some CNOOC units have not yet resumed, keeping low-sulfur resource supply relatively controlled, and prices are expected to remain stable while supporting shipment volume.

However, the medium- and high-sulfur coke markets are facing greater pressure. To relieve inventory pressure, local refineries will continue prioritizing active order signing and inventory reduction strategies. For imported coke, port inventories are slowly accumulating due to limited arrivals, but traders currently show no obvious intention to reduce prices for shipment, so the short-term impact on tomorrow's market remains limited.

On the demand side, downstream enterprises are still mainly driven by rigid-demand procurement, and overall purchasing sentiment remains cautious, making it difficult to drive substantial price increases. In the anode material sector, procurement is mainly based on rigid demand, but enterprises are becoming increasingly cautious and show limited willingness to chase higher prices. Procurement demand for prebaked anode coke has also slowed, making it difficult to support further increases in raw material prices.

It is expected that China's petroleum coke market will continue to fluctuate within a narrow range tomorrow, with refineries making slight price adjustments based on their own inventory levels and product specifications. Going forward, attention should still be paid to on-site operating conditions and downstream demand follow-up.

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