Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have edged down slightly over the past week mainly because slow demand locally has pushed sellers to accelerate overseas sales. Though the week-on-week decline has been minimal, the trend is likely to continue.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills are at $570-575/mt FOB this week, moving sideways on average week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $560-565/mt FOB, versus $565-570/mt last week, for August shipment.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight declines amid decreasing HRC future prices. Demand for CRC has been sluggish, exerting a negative impact on prices. Since the traditional off-season has started and the weather is hotter, downstream users have been cautious as regards concluding purchases of CRC. Bearish sentiments prevail among market players. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will soften further in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,680/mt ($540/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 10/mt ($1.5/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 10, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,380/mt ($496/mt), decreasing by RMB 6/mt ($0.9/mt) or 0.2 percent since June 3, while increasing by 0.6 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 9.
$1 = RMB 6.813
