China has been active in imports of hot rolled coil (HRC) over the past few weeks with more deals for South Korean and Russian coils disclosed. Due to the rising trend seen in HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market, import products will stay in demand. Chinese sellers will still show less interest in exports of HRC, while the real tradeable level for Chinese HRC has increased recently, following the improvement in the local market.
Ex-South Korea HRC was sold at $400/mt CFR China last week, in line with the level heard in negotiations. 50.000 mt of ex-Russia HRC has been traded at $390/mt CFR China, SteelOrbis confirmed, while the previous booking from Black Sea was at $385/mt CFR China. Deals for a huge tonnage of Indian coils to China were signed at $390/mt CFR at the highest last week, as reported earlier. Foreign suppliers have been trying to increase prices recently, with offers from India and Russia at $395-400/mt CFR and at $405-410/mt CFR from South Korea.
“It is hard for ex-China HRC to achieve deals, while more imports have been heard and will be heard in the near future,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills are at $415-420/mt FOB for late July delivery, moving sideways from last week. At the same time, the tradable value has increased by $5/mt today, May 12, to $405/mt FOB, sources have mentioned.
Competition in the Asian market has remained tough as even after their recent increases prices from India and Russia have been more competitive. Offers for ex-Russia HRC have been heard at $390-395/mt CFR Vietnam, while ex-India HRC is still available at $395-400/mt CFR Vietnam. As SteelOrbis reported yesterday, 20,000 mt of Indian coils have been sold in this range this week.
During the given week, downstream users in China have been active in concluding purchases of HRC, resulting in decent transaction activities and a rising trend in HRC prices. Meanwhile, inventory has been consumed smoothly, also bolstering HRC prices.
HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have seen an overall uptrend in the given week, exerting a positive impact on the local HRC market.
Domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 3,410-3,460/mt ($481-488/mt) ex-warehouse on May 12, with the average price level RMB 115/mt ($16/mt) higher as compared to April 30, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
As of May 12, HRC futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,333/mt ($470/mt), increasing by RMB 122/mt ($17.2/mt) or 3.8 percent since April 30.
$1 = RMB 7.0919