During the week ending August 16, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to edge up, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at decent levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the table below.
During the given week, major Chinese steelmakers Wuhan Iron and Steel Group and Baosteel have issued their ex-works prices for September delivery, raising their HRC prices by RMB 200/mt ($30/mt) and RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) respectively, exerting a positive impact on HRC prices in the spot market. Meanwhile, despite some downward corrections, HRC futures prices in China have indicated an overall uptrend, providing support for the domestic HRC spot market and boosting sentiment among market players. However, after the recent increases in HRC prices, market players will likely choose to focus on sales in order to bring in cash. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel Plant/Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
Medium HRC | 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,750 | 415 | ↑30 |
Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,720 | 410 | ↑40 | |||
Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 2,850 | 430 | ↑30 | |||
Average | - | 2,773 | 418 | ↑33 | |||
Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,770 | 418 | 0 |
Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,750 | 415 | ↑20 | |||
Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 2,880 | 434 | 0 | |||
Average | - | 2,800 | 422 | ↑7 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.63