During the week ending September 19, export offer prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) from China have moved sideways even though competition in the international market has become tighter and buyers have been cutting their bids further.
At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 hot rolled coil (HRC) given by Chinese mills are at $465/mt FOB. “Buyers are still bidding lower prices for HRC,” an international trader has told SteelOrbis, “while Chinese mills and traders have been unwilling to cut prices too low.” Some suppliers have been ready to provide small discounts and have been offering at $460/mt FOB, but at the same time some mills have been still insisting on $470/mt FOB.
With their export prices still at high levels, Chinese suppliers have failed to sell visible volumes to the main sales destinations. In Vietnam, buyers have been interested in purchases of Russian HRC at lower levels, i.e., at $442-452/mt CFR for small and big coils.
Local average HRC prices in China have decreased by RMB 65/mt ($9.2/mt) compared to September 12, falling to RMB 3,630-3,720/mt ($513-526/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ data. The lower prices reflect some weakening of domestic demand, which is still much better than demand on the export side.