During the week ending July 20, cold rolled coil prices in China's domestic market have been trending up continuously, with dramatic improvement of market mood. As of July 20, the average cold rolled coil 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) |
1.0 mm x 1,250 x C |
SPCC |
5,357 |
+57 |
829 |
+9 |
|
CRS |
1.0 mm x 1,250 x 2,500 |
SPCC |
5,487 |
+50 |
849 |
+8 |
As of July 20, the prices of ST12 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C cold rolled coil in the Shanghai, Tianjin and Lecong markets are respectively at RMB 5,320/mt ($824/mt), RMB 5,250/mt ($813/mt) and RMB 5,500/mt ($851/mt). Meanwhile, the sales prices of ST12 1.0 mm x 1,250 mm x 2,500 mm cold rolled coil in these markets are respectively at RMB 5,380/mt ($833/mt), RMB 5,500/mt ($851/mt) and RMB 5,580/mt ($864/mt). All the prices above include 17 percent VAT. ($1 = RMB 6.46)
On the inventory side, the cold rolled coil inventory in main cities of China has declined during the period in question. As of July 20, the total inventory of cold rolled steel in China stood 1.637 million mt, decreasing by 22,330 mt compared to the week before.
In the given week, transactions in the Chinese cold rolled coil market have significantly recovered, with traders also becoming more confident at present. On one hand, in the context of the current strong steel futures market, end-users are getting eager in bookings, considering a similar trend may be observed in the CRC market. On the other hand, traders are now placing orders actively for August, as producers' offers still staying low. Most traders expect CRC supplies in the market may narrow in the future.
To sum up, it's foreseen that the domestic CRC market may continue to indicate improvement in the short-term, depending on downstream demand.