Ex-China offer CRC prices from mills moved sideways over the past week, following the declining trend in the previous week. But overall sentiment has improved together with the tradable level in the market after HRC price gains and higher futures prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $850-880/mt FOB for January shipment, with the average prices moving sideways compared to November 24.
At the same time, the tradable level has increased by $10/mt over the past week to $850-860/mt FOB. The price level corresponds to the prices of smaller mills and traders.
“Local CRC prices have edged down, weakening the support for ex-China CRC offer prices, though rising HRC futures prices have bolstered export prices,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, domestic CRC prices have softened amid slack demand and cautious sentiments among market players. Traders have been willing to reduce sales prices in order to bring in cash and ease their financial tightness at the end of November. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,363/mt ($842/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 27/mt ($4.2/mt) compared to November 24, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 1, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,720/mt ($741/mt), increasing by RMB 121/mt ($19/mt) or 2.63 percent since November 24.
$1 = RMB 6.3693