BEIJING, June 25 (Reuters): Chinese steel and iron ore futures rose on Friday, while coking coal and coke both gained nearly 5.0 per cent against a backdrop of strong demand at mills and supply tightness.
The most-traded coke futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange , for September delivery, jumped 1.1 per cent to 2,827 yuan ($438.21) per tonne at close. They rose 5.0 per cent for the week.
Coking coal futures on the Dalian bourse inched 0.2 per cent lower to 2,045 yuan a tonne, but logged a 4.6 per cent gain this week.
Inventories of coking coal held by 100 coking plants and 110 steel mills, surveyed by consultancy Mysteel, fell 3.2 per cent to 15.7 million tonnes as of Thursday, from a week earlier due to a supply crunch amid environmental and safety production inspections.
Benchmark iron ore futures increased 1.2 per cent to 1,185 yuan per tonne. Spot prices for 62 per cent iron ore fell $2 to $217 a tonne on Thursday, according to consultancy SteelHome.
"Iron ore and steel prices are once again rising higher ... amid strong demand from the Chinese steel industry and supply issues from the largest global producers," Fitch Solutions wrote in a note.
However, an improvement in supply and weaker consumption by downstream players at current high prices are expected to cap gains in the coming months, Fitch Solutions added.
Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange , for October delivery, rose 1.8 per cent to 5,066 yuan per tonne. Hot rolled coils , used in the manufacturing sector, increased 1.8 per cent to 5,288 yuan a tonne.
The August contract for Shanghai stainless steel futures rose 1.8 per cent to 16,750 yuan per tonne.
The world's top steel producer China Baowu Steel Group said late on Thursday its stainless steel unit TISCO Group has teamed up with Brazilian miner Vale and Shandong Xinhai Technology to make nickel pig iron in Indonesia.
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