Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved up sharply in the past week amid rising iron ore prices, increasing ferrous metal futures prices and surging local CRC prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $840-860/mt FOB for late March shipment, moving up by $102.5/mt on average compared to December 16. Reference deal prices have been heard at $830/mt FOB, up $95/mt compared to the previous week.
During the given week, surging iron ore and ferrous metal futures prices have pushed up CRC prices in the local market. Following the big rises in CRC prices, downstream users have been cautious in concluding purchases. Moreover, major Chinese steelmaker Hesteel has raised its local base prices for cold rolled coil (CRC) by another RMB 800/mt ($122/mt) for delivery in January next year, following a previous rise of RMB 600/mt ($91.5/mt), pushing up the cost of ordering CRC for traders. Currently, inventory of CRC has been at relatively low levels, bolstering prices, especially amid the shortage of supply. It is thought 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 6,073/mt ($926/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 540/mt ($82.4/mt) compared to December 16, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 23, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,609/mt ($703/mt), increasing by RMB 191/mt ($29/mt) or 4.32 percent since December 16.
$1 = RMB 6.5558
