Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved down amid decreasing HRC futures prices and declining local CRC prices.
At present, export offers for CRC from China are in a range of around $545-560/mt FOB, for April shipment, moving down by $10/mt on average week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $540-545/mt FOB, versus the range of $540-550/mt FOB recorded last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down amid decreasing HRC futures prices and the lack of strong demand from downstream users. Inventories of CRC have increased in the given period, weakening the support for prices. Moreover, cautious sentiments have prevailed among market players, exerting a negative impact on the CRC market. At the same time, CRC producers are willing to produce amid the expectations for better demand in the traditional peak season in March, which will exert some pressure on prices from the supply side. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,780/mt ($527/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 53/mt ($7.4/mt) compared to February 26, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of March 5, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,376/mt ($471/mt), decreasing by RMB 56/mt ($7.8/mt) since February 26, while down 0.56 percent compared to the previous trading day, March 4.
$1 = RMB 7.1714