After the Chinese National Day holiday (October 1-7), a certain degree of confusion has surrounded cold rolled coil (CRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market, though prices have been moving in a general upward direction. Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Amid the positive market atmosphere, domestic mills are expected to push up their CRC list prices for November shipment. Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO) has announced an increase of RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) in its CRC prices, while it is thought that other steelmakers will follow suit. With prices rising, order tonnages have also been increasing.
For the near future, market prices are not expected to witness any big changes. On the one hand, due to the increased booking volumes of some traders in previous days, the market is expected to come under greater pressure from supplies. On the other hand, the demand coming from downstream industries such as the white goods and automotive sectors is not so satisfactory.
For the coming week, it is thought that the Chinese CRC market will probably trend sideways.