Ex-China CRC prices have moved sideways in the past week given the unclear market trend, amid rising HRC futures prices while local CRC prices have been showing slight decreases due to weak end-user demand.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $655-675/mt FOB on average, for March shipment, moving sideways on average over the past week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $650-655/mt FOB, remaining stable compared to last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged down slightly amid slack demand from downstream users and the prevailing cautious sentiments in the market. Traders think demand for CRC may slacken further ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 9-16), which would exert a negative impact on prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,347/mt ($612/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) compared to January 17, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 24, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,080/mt ($575/mt), increasing by RMB 87/mt ($12.3) or up 2.2 percent since January 17, while up 0.84 percent compared to the previous trading day (January 23).
$1 = RMB 7.1053
