Ex-China CRC prices have been kept stable in the past week mainly due to the uncertainty over the future price trend given the continuous fluctuations of domestic CRC offers, while HRC futures prices have shown a drop this week.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $635-645/mt FOB for November shipment, remaining stable compared to September 6. Meanwhile, the tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices has remained mainly at around $635/mt FOB, with some occasional offers reported at slightly lower levels.
“Fluctuation in HRC futures prices have affected CRC prices, while market players still expect a demand improvement ahead of the long National Day holiday (September 29-October 6) due to the anticipated stock replenishment,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market moved up first while edging down later amid the fluctuating trend of HRC futures prices. The cautious sentiments have prevailed among market players. Meanwhile, inventory of CRC has been at relatively high levels, exerting a negative impact on prices. At the same time, demand for CRC has not seen signs of any significant improvement, weakening the support for prices. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market may come under downward pressure in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,353/mt ($605/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 64/mt ($8.9/mt) compared to September 6, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of September 13, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,852/mt ($536/mt), decreasing by RMB 56/mt ($7.8/mt) or down by 1.4 percent since September 6.
$1 = RMB 7.1894
