Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways in the past week following a declining trend seen in the previous week.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $580-600/mt FOB, moving sideways on average compared to September 23, while reference deal prices are at $580-590/mt FOB to South America and the Middle East. The decreasing CRC prices in the local market have weakened the support for ex-China offer prices and exerted a negative impact on market players’ sentiments. However, HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have rebounded due to the proximity of China’s long National Day holiday (October 1-8) as market players expect a better performance.
During the given week, domestic CRC prices have edged down further as traders have been willing to sell at lower prices to lower inventory levels and bring in cash ahead of the National Day holiday. Meanwhile, inventory has been at relatively low levels. Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,643/mt ($682/mt) ex-warehouse, edging down by RMB 24/mt ($3.5/mt) compared to September 23, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of September 30, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,692/mt ($542/mt), increasing by RMB 26/mt ($3.8/mt) or 0.7 percent since September 23.
$1 = RMB 6.8101