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Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa President Barbara Piontek said that the current level of global prices of coking coal, a key raw material for steel production, guarantees JSW's profitable operations in the third quarter of this year. He said “The steel sector has been reviving for some time now, and after the COVID-19 restrictions, the full production capacity of blast furnaces has been restored. European steel producers have full order books until at least the end of the year and steel products are at their highest price levels in years. There is a high demand for coke on the market, which, in conditions of limited supply, generates high coke-to-coking coal price ratios, contributing to the above-average financial results of coking plants. Until recently, coking coal was the exception in the raw materials market, the prices of which remained very low despite the growth of other raw materials. The reason for this situation was the continued ban on the import of Australian coal by China, which upset the market equilibrium and caused an unprecedented price disproportion between Australian and American coal.”
Since mid-May, despite the persistent Sino-Australian impasse, the prices of Australian hard coal have been steadily rising, reaching the level of approx. USD 200 per ton in recent days. However, analysts do not agree on the sustainability of such a trend, pointing to the announced increase in coal supply and the projected limitations in steel production in China. According to other opinions, supply problems will not subside quickly and high prices will persist for a long time.
The JSW SA Capital Group is the largest producer of high-quality metallurgical coal and a significant producer of coke in the European Union. The Group's operations are conducted in two sectors: coal and coke. The Group is an active participant in the supply chain coking coal - coke - steel, focusing on the extraction and processing of coal and the sale of the Group's products - coal, coke and carbon derivatives, including coke oven gas, tar, benzole, ammonium sulphate and liquid sulfur.