Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have been showing a slight downward bias in most offers given the weaker domestic market and continuous fluctuations in HRC futures prices in China.
At present, export offers for CRC from China are in a range of around $535-545/mt FOB, for June shipment, compared to $535-555/mt FOB last week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $530/mt FOB, versus the range of $535-540/mt FOB recorded last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen declines amid increasing inventory levels. CRC producers’ capacity utilization rates have remained stable, while demand from downstream users has slackened. HRC futures prices have moved down in the given week, exerting a negative impact on the CRC market. Transaction activities in some regions in eastern China have improved slightly, while in other regions they have not indicated any significant improvement. There will be more rainy days in the near future, which will negatively affect the CRC market. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge down in the coming week amid the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,543/mt ($492/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 40/mt ($5.6/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 22, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,210/mt ($446/mt), decreasing by RMB 50/mt ($7/mt) or 1.53 percent since May 15.
$1 = RMB 7.1937