Ex-China HRC prices have shown an increase in deals in the Asian market as well as in more distant outlets. However, despite this, Chinese offers have remained the most competitive globally. According to market insiders, demand for HRC in China is expected to indicate a further gradual rise amid the improving situation regarding the Covid-19 outbreak in April, driving increases in trading volumes.
At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills are at $870-930/mt FOB for June shipment, with a midpoint at $900/mt FOB, moving up by $5/mt compared to March 29. “Export prices are more or less the same compared to last week, only some mills have increased their quotes a bit, while offers for SS400 HRC from smaller mills are still coming at $865-870/mt FOB,” a market insider told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, the tradable level for SS400 HRC has been heard at $860-890/mt FOB, compared to $845-885/mt FOB last week. In particular, Chinese traders, who offered SS400 HRC at $875-880/mt CFR Vietnam last week, have increased their offers to around $885-900/mt CFR this week. Besides, offers for SAE1006 HRC from Chinese traders with positions have increased by $5/mt to $915-920/mt CFR Vietnam and a deal has already been reported at $920/mt CFR Vietnam this week. Furthermore, Chinese mills have increased their SAE1006 HRC offers to Vietnamese customers by $5/mt to $940-950/mt CFR and one of the major Chinese mills has sold to Vietnam around 40,000 mt at $938/mt CFR this week, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. Meanwhile, ex-China offers for SAE1006 HRC have been voiced in Pakistan at $970-980/mt CFR, up by $10/mt on the higher end of range week on week.
However, only offers to Asian buyers have been reported at low levels, while offers to higher-priced markets have been voiced at $890/mt FOB and above. In particular, a deal for ex-China coils has reportedly been done in Saudi Arabia at $1,015/mt CFR for June shipment this week. Besides, another deal for 10,000 mt ex-China HRC is reported to have been closed in Turkey at $1,030/mt CFR, compared to $1,000-1,030/mt CFR deal prices last week. Furthermore, ex-China SAE1006 HRC offers have also been heard in Europe at around $1,300/mt CFR Antwerp and above.
Meanwhile, HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have increased slightly over the past week, supported by higher futures prices. In particular, domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 5,220-5,280/mt ($820-830/mt) ex-warehouse on April 7, with the average price level RMB 10/mt ($2/mt) higher as compared to March 29, according to SteelOrbis’ data. “Some areas in China have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak and steel mills implemented some production reductions and maintenance works in March. In April, however, with the improvement of the Covid-19 situation, steel mills that were under maintenance previously have a short-term production resumption plan and it is estimated that China’s HRC market prices will increase with some fluctuations in April, up by around RMB 100-200/mt,” a market insider stated.
As of April 7, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,278/mt ($829.3/mt), rising by RMB 23/mt ($3.6/mt) or 0.4 percent since March 29.
$1 = RMB 6.360
