During the past week China's domestic CRC market has maintained its downward trend, while inventory in the main local CRC markets has decreased slightly.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C |
SPCC |
5,483 |
-124 |
804 |
|
CRS |
1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x 2,500 mm |
SPCC |
5,833 |
-100 |
855 |
Demand from the household appliance and automobile sectors has weakened, with purchase volumes declining strongly. This is also due to the significant CRC inventories held by the automotive producers.
During the past week, Baosteel published its July price policy, making downward adjustments and thereby increasing traders' pessimism. Following Baosteel, other steelmakers may also issue new reduced prices. In this context, some small steelmakers will have to halt or slow down production operations or else face losses.
Inventory in the main Chinese cities has continued to decrease slightly. On June 4, aggregate inventory in the main Chinese cities totaled 1,334,030 mt, down 8,990 mt week on week. The area with the greatest inventory decrease was eastern China, while inventory increased in southeastern China. On June 4, CRC inventory in the Shanghai market stood at 452,330 mt, down 2,190 mt week on week.
Few CRC export transactions are being concluded. Currently, the CRC deal prices of Chinese steelmakers and foreign trade companies trend to depend on specific circumstances. The export price of 1.0 mm CRC has on average decreased to $720/mt FOB.
Generally speaking, steelmakers have continued to lower their CRC ex-factory prices, downstream demand is still decreasing, while new supplies are expected to arrive in the market in the coming period. Thus, for the coming week, the Chinese CRC market is expected to decline further.