Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have edged up in the past week amid the strong Chinese currency, rising local prices and stable demand in both domestic and export markets - continuing the rising price trend seen in the week.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $625/mt FOB for late January shipment, moving up by $5/mt on average compared to October 28. Deal prices have been at $605-610/mt FOB, up $2.5/mt compared to the previous week with customers from South America are still interested in purchases and accepting prices at the higher end of the range.
During the given week, supply of CRC has been tight, bolstering prices in the local market. Meanwhile, inventory of CRC has been relatively low. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,776/mt ($713/mt) ex-warehouse, rising by RMB 33/mt ($4.9/mt) compared to October 28, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of November 4, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,887/mt ($583/mt), increasing by RMB 33/mt ($4.9/mt) or 0.86 percent since October 28.
$1 = RMB 6.6771