During the past week, Chinese cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have continued to fluctuate. Although the average CRC price in the major markets is slightly lower than last week, from August 30 a rebound has been observed.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
1.0 mm × 1,250 mm × C |
SPCC |
5,203 |
0 |
764 |
|
CRS |
1.0 mm × 1,250 mm × 2,500 mm |
SPCC |
5,340 |
-37 |
784 |
On September 1, prices of ST12 1.0 mm × 1,250 mm × C CRC stand at RMB 5,130/mt ($753/mt), RMB 5,200/mt ($764/mt) and RMB 5,280/mt ($775/mt) respectively in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets. In addition, prices of ST12 1.0 mm × 1,250 mm × 2,500 mm CRS stand at RMB 5,270/mt ($774/mt), RMB 5,250/mt ($771/mt) and RMB 5,500/mt ($808/mt) respectively in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets. All the above prices include 17 percent VAT (US$1 = RMB 6.81).
On August 27, CRC inventory in Shanghai totaled 474,780 mt, 3,370 mt less than on August 20. As the traditional September busy season is approaching, downstream demand may increase and the outlook for the market appears to be improving. Starting from this week, major steelmakers in China are expected to publish their new price policies. Many traders expect that the costs of buying new products will increase and that CRC market prices will follow a steady upward trend. Based on such expectations, some traders have made tentative increases to their prices, while at the same time many traders remain cautious.
Generally speaking, due to the approach of the traditional busy season and the support of high costs, at present the Chinese CRC market is relatively stable and traders are optimistic about the future. If supported by end-user demand, the market trend may improve. For the coming week, it is expected that market prices will continue to fluctuate.