Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved sideways over the past week amid the slight decreases in HRC futures prices and stable local CRC prices.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills have been at $520-540/mt FOB this week, remaining stable week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $510-515/mt FOB, versus $510-515/mt FOB last week.
During the given period, HRC futures prices have indicated decreases, negatively affecting CRC prices to a certain degree. CRC producers’ capacity utilization rates increased slightly, resulting in slight rises in inventory levels. Since the New Year holiday (January 1-3) is approaching, demand from downstream users has been quiet. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market may soften in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,493/mt ($497/mt) ex-warehouse, remaining stable week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 31, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,270/mt ($465/mt), decreasing by RMB 15/mt ($2.1/mt) or 0.46 percent since December 24, while decreasing by 0.52 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 30.
$1 = RMB 7.0288
