During the week ending November 2, cold rolled coil (CRC) prices in the Chinese market continued to trend down amid low purchasing activity. As of November 2, the average prices of cold rolled steel products in the main Chinese cities are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
1.0 mm x 1,250 x C |
SPCC |
5,150 |
-60 |
815 |
-9 |
|
CRS |
1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x 2,500 mm |
SPCC |
5,257 |
-10 |
832 |
-2 |
As of November 2, the prices of ST12 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C cold rolled coil in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets are respectively at RMB 5,280/mt ($835/mt), RMB 5,000/mt ($791/mt) and RMB 5,170/mt ($818/mt). Meanwhile, the sales prices of ST12 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x 2,500 mm cold rolled coil in these markets are respectively at RMB 5,270/mt ($834/mt), RMB 5,150/mt ($815/mt) and RMB 5,350/mt ($847/mt). All the prices above include 17 percent VAT. ($1 = RMB 6.32)
Due to pessimistic expectations for the future trend of China's CRC market amid pressure from high inventory and tightness of funds, traders are trying to keep stocks at low levels and are reducing their prices in order to increase their sales. It has been reported by traders that demand for cold rolled coil in China is sluggish and that profit margins are limited.
With the decreasing prices in the overall domestic steel market, iron ore prices which had previously remained stable started to indicate strong decreases, and accordingly the strength of cost support for steel prices has suffered. Recently, some steel mills have started overhaul works, but so far this has not exerted any great impact on the market. In general, the inventories of the steel mills have continued to rise slightly.
In the past week, cold rolled coil prices in China have declined at a reduced rate, while offers keep changing in line with the CRC production costs of the steel mills. It is thought that the prices of CRC in China may decrease slightly in the coming week.