During the week ending March 3, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices for thick specifications in the Chinese domestic market have moved on a stable trend, though some slight price declines have been seen for thin specifications, while overall transaction activity in the market has picked up and is better than compared to the period before the Spring Festival holiday (Feb. 18-24). Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, while some new HRC supplies have arrived in the market, transaction activity has been at decent levels and so inventory consumption has been running smoothly. However, since inventories are still at relatively high levels, any upward movement of HRC prices will be limited, while local HRC traders have mostly chosen to keep their prices stable or decrease them slightly in order to attract business. Recently, domestic producer Bengang idled some of its production facilities due to environmental protection measures, and this will help ease supply pressure. It is expected that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will continue to indicate slight fluctuations in the coming week.