Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved sideways over the past week amid the prevailing holiday mood and slight changes in HRC futures prices.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills have been at $530-555/mt FOB this week, remaining stable compared to last week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $525-530/mt FOB, the same as last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have fluctuated within a limited range as the Chinese New Year holiday (February 14-23) is approaching. Most downstream users are going to be off for the long holiday, which will exert a negative impact on the CRC market. The pace of inventory destocking has slowed noticeably. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,497/mt ($502/mt) ex-warehouse, down RMB 6/mt ($0.9/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of February 4, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,274/mt ($470/mt), decreasing by RMB 6/mt ($0.9/mt) or 0.18 percent since January 28, while increasing by 0.18 percent compared to the previous trading day, February 3.
$1 = RMB 6.9533