Ex-China CRC prices have gone down over the past week amid still slack demand in the overseas market, while the situation in the local market in China has also been bearish with futures prices declining and spot prices showing minimal changes.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $650/mt FOB for November shipment, moving down by $10/mt compared to August 24.
The tradable level of ex-China CRC has been at $635-640/mt FOB, down by $12.5/mt week on week. At the same time, trading has been poor and market sources report that customers will seek $630/mt FOB from China.
“The decreasing trend in HRC futures prices has weakened the support for ex-China CRC prices, while market players expect a better performance in September due to the anticipated improvement in demand,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have fallen slightly amid the decreasing HRC futures prices and the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players. Since the end of the month is approaching, market players have been under strong pressure from tight liquidity, and so they have been seeking to buy at lower prices. The demand for CRC is expected to improve in September. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move up in the coming week or two.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,376/mt ($635/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 10/mt ($1.5/mt) compared to August 24, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 31, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,928/mt ($570/mt), decreasing by RMB 180/mt ($26/mt) or 4.5 percent since August 24.
$1 = RMB 6.8906
