Ex-China HRC offer prices have remained stable in the last week and are not competitive compared to prices from other sources such as India or Indonesia. Chinese mills have seen some small gains in their local market and futures prices have posted visible increases, preventing export prices from recording any significant declines.
At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills are at $770-790/mt FOB for March shipment, with a midpoint at $780/mt FOB, moving sideways compared to January 4. “HRC futures prices have moved up over the past week, bolstering ex-China HRC offer prices,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
The tradable price level for SS400 coils from major mills has been heard at $760-770/mt FOB lately, relatively stable from last week, but bids are hardly above $750-755/mt FOB, according to sources.
During the given week, domestic HRC prices have risen slightly amid increasing HRC futures prices. However, cautious sentiment has prevailed among market players as demand has slackened with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching. Market players are unwilling to build up stocks so far. It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Domestic HRC prices in China are at RMB 4,720-4,930/mt ($737-767/mt) ex-warehouse on January 11, with the average price level RMB 30/mt ($4.7/mt) higher as compared to January 4, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
As of January 11, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,719/mt ($741/mt), increasing by RMB 220/mt ($34.5/mt) or 4.9 percent since January 4.
$1 = RMB 6.3684
