Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained stable over the past week, with Chinese exporters returning to work after the Chinese New Year holiday (February 14-23) and offering largely unchanged prices.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills are at $530-550/mt FOB this week, remaining unchanged week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $525-530/mt FOB, versus $525-530/mt FOB last week.
During the given period, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways as the market is still returned to work after the holiday. CRC prices have remained stable, but trading activity has been quiet. Inventories have been accumulating, which has exerted a negative impact on market sentiments. It will take several days for demand from downstream users to recover. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,497/mt ($503/mt) ex-warehouse, remaining stable week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of February 25, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,236/mt ($467/mt), rising by RMB 8/mt ($1.2/mt) or 0.25 percent since February 11, while increasing by 1.19 percent compared to the previous trading day, February 24.
$1 = RMB 6.9321
