Ex-China CRC prices have indicated further declines over the past week amid the decreasing trends of local CRC prices and HRC futures prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $570-575/mt FOB, for September shipment, decreasing by $5/mt on average week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $570/mt FOB, decreasing by $2.5/mt on average compared to last week.
During the given week, CRC prices have seen further declines amid the sluggish demand from downstream users. Sufficient supply of CRC has negatively affected its prices. Inventory levels of CRC have not declined and so market players have had to sell at lower prices to stimulate inventory consumption. The demand for CRC is anticipated to remain slack in the traditional hot summer off-season. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely decline in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,853/mt ($540/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 17/mt ($2.4/mt) compared to July 10, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of July 17, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,668/mt ($514/mt), decreasing by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) or 0.35 percent since July 10, while down 1.64 percent compared to the previous trading day, July 16.
$1 = RMB 7.1318
