Ex-China CRC prices have moved sideways in the past week due to quiet activities ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, while local CRC offers and HRC futures prices keep moving down this week.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $655-675/mt FOB on average, for April shipment, remaining unchanged on average over the past week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $650/mt FOB, down by $5/mt on the higher end of the range week on week, while some offers have already been voiced by traders at as low as $645/mt FOB, according to sources.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight declines amid decreasing HRC futures prices. At the same time, demand for CRC has been slack due to the approach of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 9-17), exerting a negative impact on prices. Construction sites have halted their activities, resulting in stagnation in the CRC market. The CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market are expected to remain stable, though they will likely rebound following the long holiday.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,333/mt ($610/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 14/mt ($2/mt) compared to January 31, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of February 7, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,968/mt ($559/mt), decreasing by RMB 37/mt ($5.2) or 0.92 percent since January 31, while up 0.4 percent compared to the previous trading day (February 6).
$1 = RMB 7.1049
