Following a slight recovery in ex-China CRC prices last week, this week export offers for CRC have moved sideways given the uncertainty over the future price trend amid fluctuations in futures prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $625-630/mt FOB for July shipment, moving sideways compared to June 7. Meanwhile, the tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices has been heard at $625/mt FOB, also remaining stable compared to June 7. “The stimulus policy issued by China’s policymakers has bolstered market sentiments, while the slack demand has negatively affected the CRC market,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen an overall uptrend amid the increasing trend of ferrous metal futures prices. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut the repo rate by 10 basis points on June 13, which exerted a positive impact on sentiments among market players. Steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates and production outputs are still at relatively high levels, weakening the support for CRC prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,280/mt ($598/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 43/mt ($6/mt) compared to June 7, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 14, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,847/mt ($537.3/mt), increasing by RMB 126/mt ($17.6/mt) or up by 3.4 percent since June 7.
$1 = RMB 7.1566