Petroleum coke (petcoke) is a carbonaceous solid byproduct derived from oil refinery coking units, produced when heavy residual feedstocks such as vacuum residue, atmospheric residue, or heavy crude oil fractions are thermally cracked at high temperatures to recover lighter hydrocarbon fractions. The resulting material is composed predominantly of carbon (typically 90–97 wt%), with varying levels of sulfur, metals (vanadium, nickel), and ash depending on the crude oil source and processing conditions. Petcoke is commercially produced in several forms—most commonly green (raw) coke and calcined coke—and finds application as a fuel in cement kilns, power plants, and industrial boilers (fuel-grade petcoke), as well as a carbon source in aluminum smelting anodes, graphite electrode manufacturing, and titanium dioxide production (anode/calcined-grade petcoke). Its high calorific value, low ash content relative to coal, and relatively low cost make it an important industrial commodity, though its high sulfur content in many grades poses environmental and handling challenges.
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Key Influence Events
Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-11-07
Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)
The monthly customs export unit value for HS 271311 moved from USD 99.82/ton in 2025-08 to USD 132.94/ton in 2026-07 (+33.2% across the window). The window high was USD 150.22/ton in 2026-06 and the low USD 69.39/ton in 2025-09. Three-month averages put the latest quarter +8.2% against the previous one, which is read here as neutral.
The same panel reported USD 4,822.8 million of export value on 41,412,541 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 3,451,045 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.
2026-08 is deliberately not in the series: of the 9 economies that make up this page's fixed panel, 7 had filed both value and net weight for this heading when the page was re-checked on 2026-11-07 (the heading drew 10 filers in total that month); neither 2026-09 nor 2026-10 drew a single filing for this heading. Splicing a partly-filed month onto a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window stays at 2026-07 until the whole panel for 2026-08 has reported.
HS 271311 covers non-calcined petroleum coke only, so calcined and needle coke grades classified under HS 271312 sit outside this series.
Supply-side factors
- Fixed reporting panel of 9 economies: BRA (76), CAN (124), DEU (276), GRC (300), HUN (348), IDN (360), NLD (528), IND (699), USA (842). The panel is held constant in every month of the window so month-to-month movement is not a composition effect.
- Monthly unit value range over the window: USD 69.39 to USD 150.22/ton.
- Latest month, 2026-07: USD 132.94/ton, -11.5% against the previous month, on 3,651,103 tonnes.
Demand-side factors
- Fuel-grade petroleum coke demand is dominated by cement kilns and power generation, while anode-grade material goes to aluminium smelting and synthetic graphite chains.
- Related market pages on this site: Calcined Petroleum Coke, Petroleum Coke Powder and Bitumen; see also Crude Oil, the upstream barrel whose residue yields coke.
Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.
Top Countries Production Capacity
| Grade / Type | Property | Typical Value / Range | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Fixed Carbon | 88–92 | wt% |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Sulfur Content | 3–7 | wt% |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Ash Content | 0.2–1.0 | wt% |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Volatile Matter | 8–14 | wt% |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Moisture | 6–12 | wt% |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Gross Calorific Value | 7,800–8,200 | kcal/kg |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Vanadium | 100–500 | ppm |
| Fuel-Grade (High Sulfur) | Nickel | 50–200 | ppm |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Fixed Carbon | 90–92 | wt% |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Sulfur Content | 0.5–3.0 | wt% |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Volatile Matter | 8–12 | wt% |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Ash Content | <0.5 | wt% |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Vanadium | <250 | ppm |
| Anode-Grade Green Coke | Nickel | <150 | ppm |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Fixed Carbon | 98–99.5 | wt% |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Sulfur Content | 0.5–3.0 | wt% |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Volatile Matter | <0.5 | wt% |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Ash Content | <0.3 | wt% |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Real Density | 2.04–2.10 | g/cm³ |
| Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) | Electrical Resistivity | 450–600 | µΩ·m |
| Needle Coke (Premium) | Fixed Carbon | >99 | wt% |
| Needle Coke (Premium) | Sulfur Content | <0.5 | wt% |
| Needle Coke (Premium) | Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) | 0.5–1.5 | ×10⁻⁶/°C |
| Needle Coke (Premium) | Real Density | 2.12–2.15 | g/cm³ |
| Needle Coke (Premium) | Volatile Matter | <0.3 | wt% |
Data Sources
Price and volume figures are derived from the directly verified public sources below. The customs unit values are USD/ton; they are not subscription price assessments. Grade-level specifications are not restated here: confirm them with the supplier. Every monthly endpoint used for the series on this page is listed below, together with the HS classification reference.
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=271311&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
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