During the week ending May 10, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated sharp decreases, while transaction activity in the overall market has slackened further and is now at low levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, sharp decreases have been observed in the ferrous metal futures markets in China, including the hot rolled coil (HRC), rebar and iron ore futures markets, exerting a negative impact on HRC prices in the domestic spot market. Sentiment in the market is poor and downstream users have mostly maintained a wait-and-see stance, resulting in a weakening of demand for HRC. On the other hand, major Chinese producer Baosteel has issued its ex-works prices for June delivery, raising its HRC prices by RMB 350/mt ($54/mt), which will provide support for HRC prices in the spot market. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways or indicate a slight downtrend in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel Plant/Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Medium HRC | 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,540 | 390 | ↓530 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,550 | 391 | ↓500 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 2,630 | 403 | ↓420 | |||
| Average | - | 2,574 | 395 | ↓483 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 2,710 | 416 | ↓520 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 2,700 | 414 | ↓510 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 2,830 | 434 | ↓390 | |||
| Average | - | 2,474 | 379 | ↓473 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.52