Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways in the past week, following sharp declines in the previous week caused by the worsening coronavirus pandemic worldwide.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $465-470/mt FOB for late June delivery, similar to offers on March 25. There have been rare deals heard in the market, though the reference deal price was $460/mt FOB to Asia and South America.
During the given week, HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange have seen an overall downtrend amid the more complicated coronavirus situation in both the local and overseas markets, as the quarantine in Hubei Province has been lifted and will soon be lifted in Wuhan city. The decline in HRC futures prices exerted a negative impact on the CRC market. Meanwhile, demand from the auto vehicles industry has been slack, weakening the support for the CRC market. Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic will negatively affect demand from overseas markets, and so bearish sentiment has prevailed among CRC exporters.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,750/mt ($530/mt) ex-warehouse, which is RMB 220/mt ($31/mt) lower as compared to March 25, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 1, HRC futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 2,999/mt ($423.8/mt), decreasing by RMB 315/mt ($44.5/mt) or 9.5 percent since March 25.
$1 = RMB 7.0771
