Group 1 - The conference held by Galaxy Futures in Qingdao focused on the opportunities and challenges in the coking coal market under the new circumstances, with industry experts discussing how futures tools can aid in risk management and innovative business models for upstream and downstream enterprises [1] - Domestic coking coal supply has been affected by multiple factors this year, including a notice from the National Energy Administration that impacted coal mine production, along with safety and weather issues leading to low capacity utilization and slow recovery in production [1][2] - The chief analyst from Zhejiang Material Environmental Energy Co., Ltd. noted that with improved safety regulations and a decline in coal prices, the overproduction situation in coal mines is decreasing, but further checks and strict penalties on overproduction could lead to a contraction in coal supply [2] Group 2 - An Inner Mongolia washing plant faced challenges due to continuous declines in spot market prices, leading to a decrease in inventory value and increased operational risks [2] - To mitigate risks, the plant decided to use coking coal futures for inventory hedging, selling futures contracts at relatively high prices in early April, which resulted in significant profits despite losses in the spot market as prices continued to fall [3] - The successful hedging highlighted the positive role of coking coal futures in providing a channel for price risk avoidance, stabilizing operations, and ensuring normal cash flow, while also aiding in production and procurement decision-making [3]