For the week ended March 24, SteelOrbis reported Chinese flat steel offer prices to Chile trending downward. Chinese exporters' prices to Chile were reported for hot rolled coil (HRC) at $515-525/mt CFR, cold rolled coil (CRC) at $585-600/mt CFR, and hot dip galvanized (HDG) at $640-650/mt CFR. Heavy plate prices for the same week were approximately $515-530/mt CFR.
According to sources close to SteelOrbis, Chinese offers to Chile are presently at $505-515/mt CFR for HRC, $570-580/mt CFR for CRC, and $630-650/mt CFR for HDG. The updated Chinese offers this week in Chile have decreased across all flat steel grades. In comparison to the week ended March 24 prices, offer prices for the week ended March 31 are down $10/mt for HRC, while CRC prices reflect a decrease of $15/mt on the bottom end of the range and $20/mt on the top of the range. The HDG range has widened downward $10/mt on the bottom end, with sources noting that despite the downward trend, several HDG offers of $645-650/mt CFR were heard in the market over the week.
Chinese heavy plate prices to Chile have also decreased by $5/mt on the bottom of the previous range and $10/mt on the top of the previous range and are now being heard at $510-520/mt CFR. Sources note that most offers were in the $510-515/mt CFR range but a few came in at $520/mt CFR.
Additionally, one source noted that per his understanding, offers in Chile and Colombia were both at approximately the same range, and the historical $5-10/mt higher variance in offers from China to Colombia, as compared to those made to Chile, did not seem present.