During the week ending August 22, cold rolled coil (CRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to drop down. Average CRC prices in the Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Amid the ongoing slackness of demand and softening prices, CRC traders in China are currently quite pessimistic on the prospects for the domestic market.
In the given week, domestic producer Anshan Steel announced a reduction of RMB 150/mt ($23/mt) in its CRC price for September delivery. Accordingly, the steelmaker's offer price for 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm CRC has declined to RMB 4,040/mt ($637/mt) + VAT. Meanwhile, other steel producers in China have also cut their CRC prices, creating an atmosphere of panic in the market. At present, traders are eager to sell off their CRC inventories, contributing to the further downward movement of prices.
With no recovery seen in demand, the Chinese CRC market is expected to trend down further in the coming period.