The uptrend seen in China's HRC market in the previous week, due to the restocking activities of local traders, lost momentum in the past week due to lack of real demand from downstream buyers. Traders report that it is difficult to push up prices currently considering the scarcity of inquiries and orders.
Market insiders anticipate that mills' HRC offers will indicate a slight uptrend for March, boosting the spot market.
According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in mid-January (Jan. 11-20) the average daily output of crude steel in China stood at 1.67 million mt, down 1.3 percent compared to early January (Jan. 1-10). The decrease in steel production is expected to provide some degree of support for steel prices in China in the coming period.
As demand in China's HRC market is not expected to recover in the short term, market players think that domestic HRC prices will continue to trend sideways in the coming seven days.