Ex-China CRC prices have edged down over the past week amid the decreasing trend in the local market.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $920-930/mt FOB for May shipment, moving down by $10/mt compared to March 9.
Following deals at $930-940/mt FOB at the end of last week, the tradable level has declined. Deals for ex-China CRC have already been possible at $915-920/mt FOB.
“The declining HRC futures prices negatively affected market players’ sentiments first, while the increasing trend on March 16 bolstered their sentiments again,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, local CRC prices have moved down sharply amid increasing inventory levels even despite declining production outputs. Moreover, the worsening Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the release of demand. At the same time, ferrous metal futures prices moved down, exerting a negative impact on CRC prices, while they moved up significantly on March 16, which may bolster CRC prices in the future. It is thought that CRC prices may rise slightly in the coming week following the previous sharp decreases.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,473/mt ($858/mt) ex-warehouse, down RMB 160/mt ($25.1/mt) compared to March 9, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of March 16, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,080/mt ($796/mt), decreasing by RMB 39/mt ($6.1/mt) or 0.76 percent since March 9. Compared to March 15, HRC futures prices have increased by RMB 128/mt ($20/mt).
$1 = RMB 6.3178
