Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have edged up in the past week amid increasing HRC prices, the strong Chinese currency, rising HRC futures prices and increasing local CRC prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $645-670/mt FOB for late January shipment, moving up by $7.5/mt on average compared to November 11. Reference deal prices have been heard at $640-655/mt FOB, up $10/mt on average compared to the previous week.
During the given week, CRC prices have increased amid increasing ferrous metal futures prices and HRC prices in the local market. At the same time, inventory of CRC has decreased, bolstering prices. Moreover, the tight supply of CRC has exerted a positive impact on prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,960/mt ($756/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 44/mt ($6.7/mt) compared to November 11, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of November 18, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,047/mt ($617/mt), increasing by RMB 99/mt ($15.1/mt) or 2.5 percent since November 11.
$1 = RMB 6.5593