Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have indicated slight declines over the past week.
More specifically, ex-China CRC offer prices from mills are at $565-570/mt FOB this week, down $5/mt on average week on week, while the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $555-560/mt FOB, versus $560-565/mt last week, for delivery in August.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen slight decreases amid declining HRC futures prices. There have been CRC supplies from northern Chinese producers arriving in the spot market, resulting in increasing inventories, weakening the support for prices. Meanwhile, the traditional off-season and the continuous rainy weather have negatively affected stock replenishment by downstream users. Traders have come under increasing pressure from tight liquidity due to the slackness of transaction activities. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely soften in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,660/mt ($537/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 17/mt ($2.5/mt) week on week, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of July 1, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,285/mt ($482/mt), decreasing by RMB 40/mt ($5.9/mt) or 1.2 percent since June 24, while declining by 0.79 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 30.
$1 = RMB 6.8067