The chief financial officer of Queensland coal miner Coronado, Gerhard Ziems, says coking coal prices are close to a floor amid “dire” global steel markets deflated by China’s weakening trade pulse.

A 14 per cent rise in the cost of producing each tonne of coal and a 22 per cent decline in the price received by Coronado drove the miner’s half-year profit down to $US199.2 million ($305 million) on Tuesday, a 65 per cent slide.