Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have remained unchanged as most Chinese mills have not returned after the Chinese New Year holiday so far.
At present, export offers for CRC from China are in a range of around $550-560/mt FOB, for February shipment, remaining stable on average week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $540-550/mt FOB, the same as two weeks ago.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways as most market players are not back in the market yet. The pressure from the inventory side is lower than in previous years, bolstering CRC prices to a certain degree. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge up in the coming period.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,853/mt ($537/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to January 22, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
However, as of February 5, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,416/mt ($481/mt), decreasing by RMB 34/mt ($4.7/mt) or 1.0 percent since January 22, while down 1.64 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 27.
$1 = RMB 7.1693
