Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved down slightly over the past week amid continuous declines in local CRC prices affected by declines in HRC futures prices.
At present, export offers for CRC from China are in a range of around $530-545/mt FOB, for June shipment, down by $5/mt on the lower end of the range week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $525-530/mt FOB, versus the range of $530/mt FOB recorded last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down amid increasing inventories. Transaction activities have not been as good as expected, exerting a negative impact on CRC prices. Demand for CRC from downstream users has been sluggish, weakening the support for prices. Exports of CRC in the first four months decreased by 4.33 percent year on year, negatively affecting the Chinese domestic market. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge down in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,427/mt ($476/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 116/mt ($16/mt) compared to last week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 30, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,076/mt ($427/mt), decreasing by RMB 113/mt ($16/mt) or 3.5 percent since May 23, while down 0.81 percent compared to the previous trading day, May 29.
$1 = RMB 7.1894