Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways in the past week ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $750-780/mt FOB for April shipment, with the average offer prices remaining stable compared to February 3. Ferrous metal futures prices have moved up ahead of the long holiday, which will bolster ex-China CRC prices in the post-holiday period.
During the given week, local CRC prices have remained stable as market players are already off for the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17). Demand has been quiet, while inventory of CRC has not indicated big changes. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week, though market participants think that CRC prices may edge up after the holiday.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,336/mt ($829/mt) ex-warehouse, moving sideways compared to February 3, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of February 10, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,608/mt ($715.5/mt), increasing by RMB 273/mt ($42.4/mt) or 6.3 percent since February 3.
$1 = RMB 6.4391