During the week ending February 21, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have maintained a downward trend, indicating a bigger decrease than in the previous week. Average HRC prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
The announcement by China's central bank of a reduction in the deposit reserve ratio is expected to provide some relief as reqards liquidity in the domestic steel market. However, market players still think the measure may be insufficient. Demand in the HRC market has not yet been released fully, and many dealers and end-users have been purchasing only minimum tonnages. Some traders are observed to have sold HRC materials at negotiated prices even though their offers were on the high side. On the whole, there is a lack of clarity surrounding HRC offers in China at the current time.
It is expected that the Chinese HRC market will maintain its soft trend in the short-term.