During the week ending June 19, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to trend down, while market activity has been only moderate. Average HRC prices in the main Chinese markets can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Traders in the domestic HRC market are generally not inclined to purchase at the current time due to the narrowness of profit margins. The mills have gradually slowed down their production rates, but their inventories are still at relatively high levels. Moreover, some mills have reduced their prices significantly , thereby putting pressure on market prices. With the price reductions of leading mills, traders' purchasing costs are also down. However, due to weak demand in the downstream market, traders lack confidence in the prospects for the domestic HRC market in the near term.
At present, it seems difficult for the Chinese HRC market to get rid of its soft price movement.