Ex-China CRC prices have moved down further over the past week amid the declining trend in the local market and still poor demand from both local and foreign buyers.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $840/mt FOB for June shipment, down by $25/mt compared to May 18.
The tradable level of ex-China CRC offer prices has been at $830/mt FOB, down by $15/mt over the past week, though additional discounts at $10/mt are possible from some mills.
“The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has exerted a negative impact on demand for CRC, while market players expect the easing of the pandemic in the near future, which may bolster CRC prices to some extent,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, domestic CRC prices have moved down amid the ongoing slack demand from downstream users. Meanwhile, HRC futures prices have moved on a decreasing trend, exerting a negative impact on the CRC market. Following the downtrend of CRC prices, transaction activities have improved to some extent, which has resulted in declining inventory levels. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,300/mt ($796/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 86/mt ($13/mt) compared to May 18, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 25, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,673/mt ($702/mt), decreasing by RMB 3/mt ($0.45/mt) or 0.06 percent since May 18. After a few days of declines, futures prices are higher today, May 25, which has limited the week-on-week drop.
$1 = RMB 6.655
