Chinese HRC suppliers, who had been actively increasing export prices from last week, have corrected offers and deal prices down amid the increasing pressure from the domestic market where demand has slowed down significantly amid adverse weather due to the floods in Hebei Province. As a result, ex-China HRC prices have rolled back to the levels seen early last week.
Export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC from large Chinese mills have retreated by $10/mt since early this week, coming to $570-580/mt FOB, while the average level has remained stable compared to that reported on July 25. “Prices rose too quickly. Now when they corrected, some orders have started to come,” a Chinese source said.
The tradable level for ex-China SS400 HRC has been settled at $550-565/mt FOB, down by $12.5/mt on average from the level seen this Tuesday. The real offer price is $560/mt FOB or $565/mt CFR maximum. Others if higher are not interesting for buyers,” another source said. A third trader has also confirmed that “bad consumption together with the terrible weather” have been the main reasons for the recent price decline.
Some deals have already been reported in the market after a pause. In particular, ex-China Q235 HRC has changed hands at $558-560/mt CFR (translating to around $548-550/mt FOB), while Q195 coils have been traded at $561/mt CFR. Ex-China Q355 coils have been sold at $575-577/mt CFR.
In the SAE segment, a decline has also been seen, though it has been a bit smaller. Ex-China SAE1006 HRC prices have been reported at $580-590/mt CFR or $570-580/mt FOB, retreating by $10/mt from early this week. A deal for 5,000 mt of this grade material has been reported at $585/mt CFR recently. The SteelOrbis reference price for import SAE1006 HRC has been adjusted down to $580-585/mt CFR from $590/mt CFR early this week, but it has remained stable compared to the previous week’s level.
