Ex-China CRC prices have moved on a downward trend over the past week as prices and demand in the local market have remained weak.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $725-735/mt FOB for September shipment, moving down by $20/mt on average compared to June 29.
After deals done at $720/mt FOB over the past week to Southeast Asia and South America, the new tradable level of ex-China CRC has been assessed at $710/mt FOB, though some sources believe that even $700/mt FOB is not excluded.
“Local CRC prices have moved down amid slack demand during the hot summer, exerting a negative impact on export offer prices, while the downtrend in HRC futures prices 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 moved down amid declining HRC futures prices. In late June, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.0991 million mt, down 7.03 percent compared to mid-June, as announced by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), which provided some support for the CRC market outlook. However, the demand for CRC from downstream users has not improved significantly. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,790/mt ($712/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 103/mt ($15.3/mt) compared to June 29, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of July 6, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,238/mt ($630/mt), decreasing by RMB 144/mt ($21.4/mt) or 3.3 percent since June 29.
$1 = RMB 6.7246
