Although ex-China CRC prices have remained stable from big mills in the past week, the tradable price level has indicated a slight rise amid increasing HRC futures prices, though cautious sentiments have continued to prevail among players in the domestic market.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $670-690/mt FOB on average, for February-March shipment, remaining stable on average from the previous week. Meanwhile, the tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices has been heard at $660-680/mt FOB, versus $660-665/mt FOB last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved on an uptrend amid increasing HRC futures prices. However, demand for CRC has not seen any significant improvement, with cautious sentiments prevailing among market players. High production costs have bolstered CRC prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,387/mt ($618/mt) ex-warehouse, increasing by RMB 37/mt ($5.2/mt) compared to December 20, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 27, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,137/mt ($583/mt), moving up by RMB 79/mt ($11.1/mt) since December 20, while rising by 0.07 percent compared to the previous trading day (December 26).
$1 = RMB 7.1002