Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have increased slightly over the past week amid slight rises in local CRC prices and higher Chinese HRC futures prices.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills have been at $525-545/mt FOB this week, up by $5/m week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $520-525/mt FOB, versus $510-515/mt FOB last week.
During the given week, demand for CRC has remained slack during the traditional cold winter offseason. Meanwhile, since the Chinese New Year holiday is approaching, cautious sentiments have prevailed among market players, exerting a negative impact on CRC prices.
However, following the New Year holiday, the stock market in China has indicated continuous rises, positively affecting market sentiments. On January 7, coking coal and coke futures prices indicated strong rises of 7.98 percent, which drove up other ferrous metal futures prices. The central bank of China has stated that its monetary policy for 2026 will be flexible and efficient, strengthening market expectations for forthcoming easing measures such as reserve-requirement cuts and interest rate reductions, and lifting overall macroeconomic sentiments. Stock replenishments for winter may be expected amid the increases in ferrous metal futures prices and raw material prices, which will push up finished steel prices in the near future.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,500/mt ($497/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 7/mt ($1/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 8, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,317/mt ($473/mt), increasing by RMB 35/mt ($5/mt) since December 30, while increasing by 0.48 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 7.
$1 = RMB 7.0187
