The fuel used in steelmaking has quietly been a top performer in the energy commodity space in recent months.

Indian exports jumped 170% to 44 million tons last year — most of which went to China.

Going into 2024, it is likely that miners will release into the market at least some excess stock they hold on any sign of a demand recovery.

Fund managers have been scaling up short positions on zinc, betting that this year's weakest base metals price performer has further downside.

The complication for Nippon Steel is that regulators may look unfavorably on whether its acquisition of US Steel could allow more access to US markets for Chinese-sourced steel.

The move comes after China tightened export rules for graphite used for EVs in December.

Coal miners in Shanxi were asked to reduce output and carry out safety checks from March to May.

The most-active July contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange surged by 10%.