On January 23, SteelOrbis reported offers for commercial-grade HRC from China to Chile for February shipments at $525-535/mt CFR, while CRC offers were reported at $620-625/mt CFR and HDG offers at $645-655/mt CFR.
Due to the ongoing Chinese New Year holiday and subsequent lack of active trading, prices have trended stable in the last week. According to a source close to the market, “Chinese traders are out of the market at the moment. They stated that prices after the holiday would most likely be higher to encourage pre-holiday deals. We are receiving offers from Egypt and other countries that are being heard with soft regional markets. These incoming offers are around $555-565/mt CFR Chile but may soften next week. I do not believe the environment will allow the Chinese to push prices up.”
The Chinese prices on flats are expected to be updated between February 3-6 with new offers to the South American market.