中国 steel mills caught on the hop by North Korea coal 禁止（する）
By Meng Meng and Josephine Mason
BEIJING, Feb 20 (Reuters) - 中国's steel mills and 仲買人s were 緊急発進するing to find 代案／選択肢 供給（する）s of coking coal for steel making on Monday after Beijing slapped a surprise 禁止（する） on coal 輸入するs from its 孤立するd northern 隣人.
Chinese prices of steel, coking coal and coke all 決起大会／結集させるd, as 仲買人s and 分析家s said mills will likely be 軍隊d to buy more expensive 国内の 構成要素 or 捜し出す 代案／選択肢s その上の afield from Russia or Australia, 運動ing up costs.
While North Korea accounts for only a small 部分 of 中国's total coal 輸入するs, it is the main foreign 供給者 of high-質 thermal coal, called 無煙炭, which is used to make coke, a 重要な 成分 in steelmaking.
"This news really took us by surprise. We are looking at a couple of 代案／選択肢 計画（する）s," said a steel mill 購入（する）ing 経営者／支配人, based in the northern 州 of Liaoning.
These 含むd buying 無煙炭 from Shanxi 州 or buying more coke from 地元の providers, but both were more 高くつく／犠牲の大きい, said the 経営者／支配人, whose 会社／堅い uses about 10,000 tonnes of North Korean 無煙炭 each month.
商売／仕事 with North Korea had become ますます difficult under years of 許可／制裁s and the once-bustling 貿易（する） 扱うing coal from the north had shrunk to just a few 私的な merchants.
Still few mills or 仲買人s 心配するd the 完全にする 中断 of 輸入するs, which （機の）カム a week after Pyongyang 実験（する）d an 中間の-範囲 弾道学の ミサイル, its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. 大統領 Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
中国 bought 22.48 million tonnes of 無煙炭 from North Korea in 2016, 85 パーセント of its total 輸入するs.
PRICES RALLY
Steel mills often blend 無煙炭 with coking coal to make coke, a 燃料 used in 爆破 furnaces, rather than using only more expensive coking coal.
中国's most-active 未来s 契約 for rebar, a steel 製品 used in constructi on, rose 2.6 パーセント by 0640 GMT on Monday, while coke and coking coal 追加するd 2.6 パーセント and 2.4 パーセント それぞれ.
株 in Chinese 無煙炭 生産者 Yangquan Coal 産業 rose 2.8 パーセント.
"Rebar jumped on 予期 that the 禁止（する） on North Korean 無煙炭 could lead to higher costs for steel mills that will struggle to find cheaper 代案／選択肢s in the 国内の market," said Zhang Min, a coal 分析家 based in Zibo, Shandong with Sublime （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） Group.
A coke 生産者 said he 推定する／予想するd to 禁止（する） to lead to a 回復する in coke prices, which had fallen since late December 予定 to good 供給（する） and 減ずるd 需要・要求する for the Lunar New Year.
"I am not planning to take any new orders from new （弁護士の）依頼人s 権利 now, because we believe coke 砕く prices will 回復する はっきりと this week on the news," said the 経営者／支配人 of a 国内の coke 工場／植物, based in Shandong 州.
Some mills could 捜し出す other 輸入するs, but 生産者s such as Australia, Russia and Vietnam didn't produce enough to 選ぶ up the slack and shipping it would cost 意味ありげに more than from North Korea, 仲買人s said.
($1 = 6.8640 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(報告（する）／憶測ing by Josephine Mason and Meng Meng; Editing by Richard Pullin)
