During the week ending April 2, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have witnessed significant decreases. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the latest round of price decreases seen during the past week, large traders cut their HRC offer prices first, while later other traders followed their example and lowered their offer prices also. However, some traders who have cooperation agreements with steelmakers say they prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance for the time being instead of cutting prices.
As for the near future, prices are unlikely to move up due to the lack of any improvements in demand. It is thought that the downward trend in China's domestic HRC market will continue for a while yet.