Ex-China CRC prices have seen big decreases over the past week amid the decreasing trend in the local market and the sharp fall in HRC futures prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $900-920/mt FOB for June shipment, down by $35/mt compared to April 20.
The tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices is at $890-910/mt FOB, moving down by $30/mt compared to April 20. These prices could be found easily from a number of mills, but customers are mainly cautious in the current falling market.
“The continuous lockdown in Shanghai and the strict control measures in many other regions of China have negatively affected the CRC market, while the bearish performance of the stock market has also weakened the support for market sentiments,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have also indicated declines. Though market players expected an improvement in demand for CRC, downstream industries have recovered very slowly. As the Labor Day holiday (May 1-5) is approaching, demand will unlikely see any big improvement. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,563/mt ($848/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 63/mt ($9.6/mt) compared to April 20, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 27, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,948/mt ($754/mt), decreasing by RMB 275/mt ($42/mt) or 5.3 percent since April 20.
$1 = RMB 6.5598
