Ex-China CRC prices have moved down further over the past week even despite some rebound seen in futures prices. The weak sales seen previously from China have prevented prices from rising.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $745-755/mt FOB for August shipment, moving down by $12.5/mt compared to June 22.
The tradable level of ex-China CRC prices has been at $710-730/mt FOB, down by $20-40/mt from $750/mt FOB on average last week. Some deals have already been reported at this range.
“Though local CRC prices have increased, ex-China CRC offer prices have indicated big declines due to the slack demand in the export market, and the downtrend in raw materials has also weakened the support for the CRC market,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have risen amid the rebounding trend of HRC futures prices. Following the rises in local CRC prices, bullish sentiments have prevailed among market players. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely edge up further in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,893/mt ($730/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 43/mt ($6.4/mt) compared to June 22, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 29, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,382/mt ($654/mt), rising by RMB 187/mt ($28/mt) or 4.5 percent since June 22.
$1 = RMB 6.7035