Over the past week, the Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) market has fluctuated in an upward direction.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
HR |
5.75 mm x 1,500 mm |
Q235B |
4,850 |
+30 |
740 |
+5 |
HR |
2.75 mm x 1,250 mm |
Q235B |
4,960 |
+33 |
757 |
+5 |
On April 26, Q235/S400 5.75 mm hot rolled coil (HRC) prices stand at RMB 4,820/mt ($736/mt), RMB 4,800/mt ($733/mt) and RMB 4,930/mt ($753/mt) respectively in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets. In addition, Q235 2.75 mm HRC stands at RMB 4,980/mt ($760/mt), RMB 4,840/mt ($739/mt) and RMB 5,060/mt ($773/mt) respectively in the abovementioned markets. All the above prices include 17 percent VAT (US$1 = RMB 6.55).
In the past week, some hot rolled product traders became more optimistic on the prospects for the market and tentatively raised their quotations; however, generally a wait-and-see mood still prevails in the market.
Regarding inventory, on April 22 aggregate inventory of hot rolled products in China's main cities came to 4.5406 million mt, down 2,280 mt week on week. However, inventory in Shanghai on the same date was 1.62127 million mt, down 23,440 mt week on week.
At present, overall new product arrivals in the market are on the weak side, thanks to the limited bookings by traders in the previous period and the maintenance operations carried out by mills. In the Shanghai market, hot rolled product inventory has again declined on the back of the gradual release of demand from the downstream market.
Currently, both favorable and negative factors still exist in the market. For the coming week, it is expected that the Chinese hot rolled coil market will continue to rise in line with the increasing volume of transactions in the market.