Chinese HRC exporters have remained aggressive and have continued to cut offer prices over the past week, trying to accelerate sales. However, trading has failed to improve much and only limited deals have been signed as buyers believe there is still some space for prices to come down.
Large Chinese mills have been offering boron-added SS400 HRC at $500-505/mt FOB this week, down by $5-7/mt compared to $507-510/mt FOB reported last week. “Even such large mills as Angang/Benxi are ready to deal at $500/mt FOB,” a Chinese trader said. A few other market sources said that this price level has been discussed in active negotiations in the Middle East, though there has been no information about large-size contracts having been done.
The price level for small mills and traders has declined by $3-6/mt from last week to $490-492/mt FOB, where the lower end corresponds to Anfeng’s prices. The latest offer price level for Q195/SS400 HRC in Pakistan has been reported at $515/mt CFR with some limited trading activity seen, down from the previous bookings at $520-523/mt CFR in this destination. But the majority of buyers in Pakistan have been waiting for $512/mt CFR. The indicative price for Chinese SS400 has also lost $5/mt over the past week to $510/mt CFR.
In Turkey, Chinese HRC offers are at $542-545/mt CFR, but no one is eager to purchase.
During the given week, HRC futures prices have indicated declines, negatively affecting local HRC prices in the spot market. A new wave of heavy rainfall has hit China, exerting a negative impact on market sentiments. Transaction activities in the HRC market have improved slightly, while still being at relatively low levels. It is expected that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge down further in the coming week.
Domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 3,350-3,490/mt ($492-512.5/mt) ex-warehouse on June 30, with the average price level RMB 20/mt ($2.9/mt) lower compared to that recorded on June 23, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
As of June 30, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,315/mt ($487/mt), decreasing by RMB 12/mt ($1.8/mt) or 0.36 percent since June 23, while increasing by 0.15 percent compared to the previous trading day, June 29.
| Product | Spec | Quality | City | Origin | Price（RMB/mt） | W-o-w change |
| HRC | 5.75mm x 1,500 x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Angang | 3,490 | -10 |
| Tianjin | Baotou Steel | 3,350 | -40 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 3,470 | -10 | |||
| Avg | 3,437 | -20 | ||||
| HRC | 2.75mm x 1,250 x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Angang | 3,600 | -10 |
| Tianjin | Baotou Steel | 3,410 | -40 | |||
| Lecong | Angang | 3,550 | -10 | |||
| Avg | 3,520 | -20 |
$1 = RMB 6.8109
