Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have edged down slightly week on week despite some slight recovery in HRC futures prices as both local and overseas demand has remained weak.
At present, export offers for CRC from China are in a range of around $530-545/mt FOB, for June shipment, edging down by $2.5/mt on average week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $525-530/mt FOB, versus the range of $530-535/mt FOB recorded last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways amid slight rises in HRC futures prices. More CRC supplies have arrived in the spot market, resulting in rising inventory levels, exerting a negative impact on prices. Downstream users have been cautious in concluding purchases of CRC, weakening the support for prices. However, the People’s Bank of China has decided to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for Chinese banks by 0.5 percentage points effective as of May 15, while the interest rate for individual housing provident fund loans will be lowered by 0.25 percentage points as of May 8, which will positively affect market sentiments and provide some support for CRC prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,600/mt ($500/mt) ex-warehouse, remaining stable compared to April 30, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 7, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,217/mt ($447/mt), increasing by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) or 0.4 percent since April 30, while up 0.34 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 6.
$1 = RMB 7.2005
