Ex-China CRC offer prices have moved sideways over the past week, but new offers are expected at higher levels in the near future amid the increasing trend in the local market and higher deal prices last week.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $950-960/mt FOB for June shipment, moving sideways compared to March 30. At the same time, deals have been reported at this range last week, which is $10/mt higher compared to the tradable level of $940-950/mt FOB reported earlier.
“Market players’ sentiments have been negatively affected by the strict control measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, though they still look forward to an improved situation in the coming period,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight rises amid the declining inventory levels. HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have edged up slightly, exerting a positive impact on the CRC market. Steelmakers have been willing to raise their prices for May as they expect better demand in the coming month, though no new prices have been released yet on April 6, the first day after the holiday. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge up in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,630/mt ($882.5/mt) ex-warehouse, edging up by RMB 50/mt ($8/mt) compared to March 30, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 6, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,268/mt ($826/mt), rising by RMB 4/mt ($0.63/mt) or 0.076 percent since March 30.
$1 = RMB 6.3799
