Ex-China CRC prices have moved down in the past week amid declining HRC futures prices coupled with the ongoing weakness of demand from overseas buyers.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $655-675/mt FOB on average, for March shipment, down by $10/mt on average over the past week. Meanwhile, the tradable level for ex-China CRC has been heard at $650-655/mt FOB, against $655-670/mt FOB last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged down amid decreasing HRC futures prices and slack demand from downstream users. Inventory of CRC has started to increase, which will exert a negative impact on prices in the near future. The tension between the high booking price levels for CRC and the sluggish demand from downstream users will continue to intensify. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move down further in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,360/mt ($614/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) compared to January 10, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 17, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,993/mt ($564/mt), decreasing by RMB 11/mt ($1.5) or down 0.27 percent since January 10, and down 0.5 percent compared to the previous trading day (January 16).
$1 = RMB 7.1168
