Following a sharp drop seen in ex-China CRC prices last week, Chinese CRC suppliers have maintained their prices unchanged this week. At the same time, despite a slight rebound in CRC futures prices, sentiments have been rather cautious due to upcoming holiday in China.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $700/mt FOB for June shipment, remaining stable compared to April 12.
The tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices has been heard at $690/mt FOB, also moving sideways compared to last week. “Demand as well as supply have been in a weak balanced situation, while the coming holiday will exert a negative impact on the CRC market,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen decreases amid the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players. Buyers have been unwilling to conclude purchases for high-end CRC resources. Meanwhile, the inventory levels of CRC have declined slightly, signaling demand is being released slowly amid insufficient supply. The Labor Day holiday (April 29-May 3) is approaching, which will negatively affect the demand for CRC.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,503/mt ($655.5/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 70/mt ($10.2/mt) compared to April 12, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 19, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,009/mt ($584/mt), rising by RMB 12/mt ($1.7/mt) or edging up by 0.3 percent since April 12.
$1 = RMB 6.8731
