During the week ending August 13, prices in the Chinese domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) market have been either stable or have softened slightly, while transaction activity has remained poor. Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, major domestic steel producer Baosteel issued its prices for September shipment, keeping its CRC prices unchanged compared to its prices for August shipment, reflecting the cautious attitude of steelmakers on the future prospects of the market. Baosteel's unchanged prices may help keep CRC prices in the spot market stable also. However, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market may still move down slightly due to the lack of improvement in transaction activity and the lack of reductions in supply volumes from steelmakers. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will follow a slight downtrend in the coming week.