On September 2, 2026, Coke Options were listed for trading on Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE). Over the first month since its listing, the coke options market has operated in an orderly and stable manner, with steadily rising participation from the industry. Its risk management function has begun to emerge, providing strong financial support for the stable operation, risk prevention and high-quality development across the coal, coke and steel industry chain.
During the first month of trading, the domestic coal, coke and steel spot markets fluctuated, rising initially before stabilizing. With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, end-user demand weakened temporarily, while price movements in the futures and spot markets became more closely intertwined and volatile. During this period, coke options were priced rationally and reflected spot market fundamentals, providing favorable conditions for companies across the value chain to manage risk on an ongoing basis.
Data from DCE show that as of the close on October 15, coke options had traded for 26 trading days, with a cumulative trading volume of 161,900 lots and turnover of RMB 980 million. Average daily trading volume stood at 6,226 lots, while average daily open interest was 11,581 lots. The ratio of options trading volume to futures trading volume reached 14.81%, and the ratio of options open interest to futures open interest stood at 16.76%. Institutional clients accounted for 92.73% of total open interest.
In terms of volatility, the implied volatility of the at-the-money contract in the J2701 series, the most actively traded coke options series, stood at 26.54% on October 15. This was approximately 3.5 percentage points above the underlying futures contract’s 30-day historical volatility of 23.04%, remaining within a reasonable range and faithfully reflecting market expectations for coke price volatility.
During the first month of trading, companies across the coal, coke and steel industry chain actively explored a range of options trading strategies according to their actual conditions in their own production and operation, using coke options flexibly to hedge risks associated with inventory management, procurement and sales. This has broadened the range of practical applications for the instrument.
