In the past week, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese market have registered a small increase. The average HRC prices in the main markets in China are as follows:
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
HR |
5.75 mm x 1,500 mm |
Q235B |
4,793 |
+46 |
741 |
+7 |
HR |
2.75 mm x 1,250 mm |
Q235B |
4,840 |
+13 |
748 |
+2 |
As of July 13, the prices of Q235/S400 5.75 mm HRC in Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong are respectively RMB 4,770/mt ($737mt), RMB 4,700/mt ($726/mt) and RMB 4,910/mt ($759/mt). For Q235 2.75 mm HRC, prices stand at RMB 4,840/mt ($748/mt), RMB 4,720/mt ($730/mt) and RMB 4,960/mt ($767/mt) in the abovementioned cities. All prices include 17 percent VAT ($1 = RMB 6.48).
As for inventory, inventory in the main markets has declined dramatically. As of July 8, aggregate HRC inventory in China's main cities stands at 4,210,430 mt, down 77,310 mt from the level on July 1.
In the Chinese HRC market, traders are active in concluding transactions. However, some traders expect prices to increase and so they tend to adopt a wait-and-see stance as regards sales.
To sum up, the market recovery is driving the activity of traders, while increased supply generally meets the demand of the market. However, end-demand is also slow. It is not known whether the rebound in prices will continue. It is expected hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese market will trends sideways in the coming week.