During the week ending January 20, average cold rolled prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a slight rising trend, though characterized by some diverse price movements in different regions, while transaction activity in the overall market has been at decent levels. Average cold rolled coil (CRC) prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
In the early part of the given week, CRC prices mostly followed a stable trend, Later in the week, however, due to the rising trend of finished steel futures prices in China, sentiment in the local CRC market has improved, resulting in price increases in the CRC market. Most traders have now started to adopt a wait-and-see stance towards the CRC market. Meanwhile, inventories are at low levels in the CRC market. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week.
| Product name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| Thin CRC | 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C | ST12 | Shanghai | MaSteel | 2,850 | 433 | ↓30 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,650 | 403 | ↑50 | |||
| Lecong | MaSteel | 2,770 | 421 | 0 | |||
| Average | - | 2,757 | 419 | ↑7 | |||
| Thin CRS | 1.0 mm x 1,250mm x 2,500 mm | ST12 | Shanghai | Anshan Steel | 2,690 | 409 | ↓40 |
| Tianjin | Anshan Steel | 3,020 | 459 | ↑110 | |||
| Lecong | Anshan Steel | 2,630 | 400 | 0 | |||
| Average | - | 2,780 | 422 | ↑23 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.58