During the week ending January 14, prices in the Chinese domestic cold rolled coil (
CRC) market have indicated an overall downtrend, while transaction activity in the market has remained at low levels.
Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, most traders have chosen to lower their sales prices in order to bring in cash to ease the financial tightness they have been experiencing. Meanwhile, due to the very cold weather in northern
China,
CRC supplies have been moving from the north to southern
China, increasing the supply pressure in the south. At the same time, downstream users in
China have been maintaining a wait-and-see stance. Chinese steel giant Baosteel has issued its prices for February delivery, decreasing its cold rolled product prices by RMB 50-300/mt ($8-48/mt), exerting a negative impact on the local
CRC market. It is expected that
CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move down further in the coming week.