Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved up in the past week amid the rising trend in the local market, increasing iron ore prices and limited supply for the export market.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $540-550/mt FOB for late October, rising by $10/mt compared to the August 5, following a rising trend in the previous week.
The reference deal prices have been heard at $525-535/mt, FOB, to Southeast Asia and South America, up by $7.5/mt on average. “The increasing iron ore prices and the firm trend of local CRC prices bolstered ex-China CRC offer prices,” said a trader.
During the given week, major Chinese steelmaker Baosteel raised its CRC ex-works prices by RMB 260/mt ($37/mt), providing solid support for the spot market. Meanwhile, inventory of CRC has been relatively low, also exerting a positive impact on CRC prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,436/mt ($637/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 30/mt ($4.3/mt) compared to August 5, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 12, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,900/mt ($560.4/mt), decreasing by RMB 11/mt ($1.6/mt) or 0.3 percent since August 5.
$1 = RMB 6.9597