During the week ending May 2, the Chinese cold rolled coil (CRC) market has been on a downward trend. Average prices of CRC in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
On the back of high production in March coupled with weak market demand, traders have seen little possibility for increases in their CRC offers.
On the bright side, at the end of April CRC inventory in the domestic market totaled 1.69 million mt, down 6,900 mt compared to one week ago and down 12,500 mt from one month ago. In addition, the strong performance seen in the export markets in March seems to have had a positive impact on the domestic market. In the short term, there is not much room for further price decreases. On the first day following the May Day holiday, there is only sporadic trading activity in the market as some traders are still on holiday. It is expected that the Chinese CRC market will continue to follow a soft trend in the coming week.