During the week ending March 11, Chinese domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have moved on an overall downward trend. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the given week, amid the poor performance of Asian financial markets after the release of disappointing economic data by China and Japan, negative sentiment has prevailed in the Chinese domestic HRC market. HRC traders indicate that they prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance amid the uncertain future prospects for the HRC market. Transaction activity during the given week has been quieter than in previous weeks as downstream users are mostly delaying their purchases due to expectations that prices will decline further. While the supply-demand situation means it is unlikely that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will see a significant decline, the HRC spot market will remain influenced by the weakness of the financial markets. It is expected that the Chinese domestic HRC market will continue its downtrend in the coming week, though with limited decrease margins.