Ex-China CRC prices have continued to show a big decline over the past week amid the sharp decreasing trend of ferrous metal futures prices and local CRC prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $925-935/mt FOB for January shipment, with the average prices moving down by $50/mt compared to October 27. “The continuous decreases in ferrous metal futures prices have weakened the support for CRC prices,” an international trader told SteelOrbis. The recent price drop has increased the competitiveness of ex-China CRC in the global market and deals are under discussion. Some market sources believe that CRC prices will follow the trend of the HRC segment, though some stabilization of prices is not excluded, since prices have already fallen a lot.
During the given week, local Chinese CRC prices have indicated big declines amid the sharp decreases in ferrous metal futures prices and the prevailing bearish sentiments as regards the future market prospects. The demand for CRC has been slack, while downstream users have mostly maintained a wait-and-see stance, which has negatively affected prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,926/mt ($926/mt) ex-warehouse, moving down by RMB 287/mt ($45/mt) compared to October 27, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of November 3, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,782/mt ($747/mt), decreasing by RMB 250/mt ($39/mt) or 5.0 percent since October 27. HRC futures increased by 1.6 percent compared to the previous day.
$1 = RMB 6.4079