Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways and the majority of sellers have limited their number of offers amid the rising trend of local CRC prices, increasing HRC futures prices in China, and the pending tax rebate cut issue.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $835-855/mt FOB for May shipment, with the average offer prices moving sideways compared to March 24. The reference deal prices are still at $820-830/mt FOB, for Southeast Asia and South America.
“Most steelmakers have stopped giving export offer prices for CRC due to the possible cancellation of the tax rebate,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, local CRC prices in China have indicated big rises amid the rising trends in futures prices and HRC prices. However, downstream users have been cautious as regards accepting the current high levels of prices. Inventory of CRC has been at relatively low levels, which will provide support for prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,776/mt ($879/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RB 120/mt ($18.3/mt) compared to March 24, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of March 31, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,383/mt ($819mt), increasing by RMB 222/mt ($34/mt) or 4.3 percent since March 24.
$1 = RMB 6.5713
