The most-active coke futures, for May delivery, on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended down 0.2 percent at 1,889 yuan ($274.12) a tonne, after rising as much as 3.3 percent earlier in the session. Coking coal eased 0.2 percent to 1,172 yuan a tonne, after gaining as much as 2.3 percent earlier in the day.
The most-active rebar steel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.4 percent to a two-week low of 3,396 yuan a tonne. Hot rolled coil fell 1 percent at 3,335 yuan. The most traded iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange inched up 0.2 percent to 491.5 yuan a tonne.
Expectations of a boost in demand as steel mills begin restocking provided some support to prices, said Darren Toh, steel and iron ore data scientist at Tivlon Technologies, a Singapore-based steel and iron ore data analytics company. "We are expecting a further build up of steel inventories at the warehouses (especially as mills switch to using discounted iron ore)," he said. "(It) is a clear sign of firm commitment to produce more steel despite margin erosion."