At present, most traders in China believe that CRC prices will continue to decline in the coming period. According to the official data, in March this year Chinese CRC output totaled 5.29 million mt, up 8.9 percent month on month and rising by 13.4 percent year on year. The output volume in March constituted a new historic high. If mills do not cut back on their production schedules, the market will likely face pressure from supply. China imported 293,000 mt of CRC in March, up 6.85 percent month on month and down 19.23 percent year on year., while total CRC exports in the month came to 312,000 mt, rising by 86.92 percent from February and up 9.59 percent from 2011. The significant increase in exports was mainly attributable to low domestic sales prices and the low export volume in February.
As regards the short term outlook, there is not expected to be significant room for further decreases in CRC prices, mainly due to the high production costs that the mills will face for April and May production materials. On the whole, market supply-and-demand dynamics and production costs will be decisive factors for the future price trend of the CRC market.