Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways in the past week after increasing previously. Demand from overseas buyers have been weak and prices from China have been not competitive. At the same time, a rising trend has still been seen in the local CRC market.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $500-505/mt FOB for late August, moving sideways compared to June 10, following a slight uptrend in the previous week. The tradable value has been heard at $490/mt FOB to Southeast Asia and South America.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), production and sales of automotive vehicles in China improved in May, up 18.2 percent and 14.5 percent year on year, while rising by four percent and 5.9 percent month on month, boosting sentiment in the local CRC market.
During the given week, inventory of CRC has been at relatively low levels, while there has been a supply shortage for some specifications, providing solid support for CRC prices. Meanwhile, demand has been good, also bolstering CRC prices. However, the rainy weather in eastern and southern China will likely exert a negative impact on the CRC market in the future.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,060/mt ($573/mt) ex-warehouse, up RMB 44/mt ($6.2/mt) compared to June 10, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of June 17, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,516/mt ($496/mt), increasing by RMB 36/mt ($5.1/mt) or 1.02 percent since June 10.
$1 = RMB 7.0873
