In the week ending December 1, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to soften, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at low levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, iron ore and semi-finished steel prices in China have indicated downward movements, weakening support for local HRC prices. Meanwhile, finished steel futures prices have weakened, resulting in bearish sentiment in the domestic HRC market, with most buyers maintaining a wait-and-see stance. At the same time, approaching the end of the year, traders will come under pressure from tight liquidity, which will stimulate them to sell at lower prices in order to bring in cash. Moreover, the flow of HRC supplies from northern China, where the weather is colder, to southern China will likely negatively affect prices in the south. As the Christmas and New Year holidays are drawing closer, demand from overseas markets will likely shrink, which would result in increased supply in the domestic market and put further downward pressure on domestic market prices. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move down further in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel Plant/Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Medium HRC | 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 1,780 | 278 | ↓30 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 1,710 | 267 | 0 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 1,950 | 305 | ↓20 | |||
| Average | - | 1,814 | 283 | ↓16 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 1,900 | 297 | ↓30 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 1,740 | 272 | ↓30 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 1,980 | 309 | ↓20 | |||
| Average | - | 1,874 | 293 | ↓26 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.40