Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved sideways amid the prevailing cautious sentiments due to approaching Chinese New Year holiday and the stable domestic prices.
At present, export offers for CRC from China have remained in a range of around $545-570/mt FOB, for February shipment. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $535-550/mt FOB, the same as last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable amid the slack demand from downstream users and the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players. Meanwhile, as of December 20, domestic inventory of CRC decreased by 2.2 percent compared to December 10, bolstering its prices to a certain degree. In order to avoid potential risks from the declining trend in the future, sellers in CRC market adjusted their selling prices in spot market following HRC futures prices. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will maintain the fluctuating trend within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,870/mt ($538/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to December 18, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 26, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,428/mt ($477/mt), increasing by RMB 9/mt ($20/mt) or 0.26 percent since December 19, while up 0.18 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 25.
$1 = RMB 7.1897
