Ex-China CRC prices have moved down slightly over the past week given the continuous weak demand overseas, coupled with the bearishness in the hot rolled coil (HRC) segment and weaker domestic CRC prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $650-655/mt FOB, for April shipment, against $650-660/mt FOB last week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $640/mt FOB on average, down by $5/mt on the higher end of the range week on week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight declines as downstream users have been unwilling to conclude purchases following the long holiday. Cautious sentiments still prevail among market players, though the rebounding trend of HRC futures prices since February 27 has bolstered market sentiments to a certain degree. In some regions, the snowy and rainy weather conditions have exerted a negative impact on the CRC market.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,293/mt ($605/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 17/mt ($2.4/mt) compared to February 21, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of February 28, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,920/mt ($551.5/mt), rising by RMB 4/mt ($0.6/mt) or 0.1 percent since February 21, while up by 0.49 percent compared to the previous trading day (February 27).
$1 = RMB 7.1075
