Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved up further in the past week amid the main focus on local sales. Foreign customers have not been interested in purchases.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $470-475/mt FOB for late July, rising by $12.5/mt on average compared to May 20, following a slight uptrend over the previous week. The tradable value has been at $460-465/mt FOB to Southeast Asia and South America. However, demand from the overseas market has remained slack and the rising ex-China CRC prices have made it difficult to conclude deals, and this difficult situation will likely continue due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic worldwide.
During the given week, demand for CRC in China has also declined slightly, causing traders to cut their sales prices: however, local demand is still much better than demand in the international market. Meanwhile, approaching the end of the month, traders are experiencing tight liquidity and they need money to book new supplies. At the same time, CRC inventories are relatively low, which will provide support for prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,916/mt ($551.5/mt) ex-warehouse, down RMB 96/mt ($13.5/mt) on average compared to May 20, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of May 27, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,419/mt ($481.5/mt), decreasing by RMB 27/mt ($3.8/mt) or 0.8 percent since May 20.
$1 = RMB 7.1092