During the week ending September 9, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to indicate a downtrend, while transaction activity has remained poor. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, since prices of iron ore, semi-finished steel and steel futures in China have followed an overall downtrend; domestic HRC traders have mostly held a pessimistic view of the market situation and have chosen to sell off materials in order to lower their inventories. Currently, downstream users are mainly purchasing just in line with their needs, resulting in sluggish demand and so traders are also more willing to negotiate on their offer prices in actual transactions. Further declines in raw materials prices may encourage some traders to cut their HRC prices again in the coming period. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely continue their downward movement in the week ahead.