During the week ending September 16, prices in the Chinese domestic cold rolled coil (CRC) market have indicated a decreasing trend, while transaction activity has remained at poor levels. Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
During the given week, the rising trend of semi-finished steel prices in China has not continued, with domestic semi-finished steel prices resuming their downtrend in the past two days. A pessimistic view mostly prevails on the future prospects for the finished steel market in China. In the local CRC spot market, inventory levels have started to increase, exerting strong pressure on the supply side. As we have entered the second half of the current month, liquidity in the CRC market is expected to become tighter in the coming days and this will negatively impact sentiment among traders. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move down further in the coming week, though by small margins.