In the week ending August 25, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a sharp declining trend, while transaction activity in the overall market has remained at low levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, due to sharp decreases in prices of finished steel futures and semi-finished steel, bearish sentiment has prevailed among local HRC traders, resulting in drops in HRC offer prices. In addition, the significant slump in the Chinese stock market over the past week has exerted a negative impact on commodity markets including the finished steel market, contributing to a sentiment of panic in the domestic HRC market. It is expected that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will continue their decreasing trend in the coming week, though decrease margins may be smaller compared to those seen in the past week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel Plant/Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Medium HRC | 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 1,920 | 299 | ↓100 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,000 | 312 | ↓80 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 2,150 | 335 | ↓80 | |||
| Average | - | 2,023 | 315 | ↓87 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,160 | 336 | ↓90 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,120 | 330 | ↓80 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 2,320 | 361 | ↓80 | |||
| Average | - | 2,200 | 343 | ↓83 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.42