During the week ending April 15, prices in the Chinese domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) market have indicated downward movement, while transaction activity in the market has remained slack. Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, domestic CRC prices have moved on a soft trend amid sluggish demand and also because inventories are still at high levels, while low-priced CRC materials are seen in the market. Furthermore, major domestic producer Baosteel has cut its CRC ex-works prices for May shipment, exerting a negative impact on CRC market prices. Lately, iron ore futures prices have indicated a rebound, boosting support from the cost side. Meanwhile, demand for CRC is expected to improve gradually in the coming period. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.