Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have edged down slightly in the past week as demand from overseas has been at critically low levels.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $450-460/mt FOB for late June, down by $2.5/mt on average compared to April 22. The tradable price level has been at $440-450/mt FOB to Southeast Asia and South America. But even such a level would be unable to trigger any visible demand, sources have said.
Most CRC producers have lowered their export price target amid quiet activities. Though policies have been issued in China to stimulate auto vehicle purchases, these have been insufficient to boost demand for CRC against the background of the worsening coronavirus pandemic in overseas markets.
During the given week, downstream users in China have been unwilling to build up stocks and have only purchased in line with needs. Though inventory of CRC has decreased, oversupply still exists. Meanwhile, the Labor Day holiday (May 1-5) is approaching and so demand is expected to slacken.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,653/mt ($517/mt) ex-warehouse, down RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) compared to April 22, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 29, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,159/mt ($447/mt), decreasing by RMB 52/mt ($7.4/mt) or 1.6 percent since April 22.
$1 = RMB 7.0704
