Ex-China CRC prices have remained stable over the past week and trading has slowed down even more ahead of the end of the year, while the outlook for January is negative amid the decreasing trends of ferrous metal futures and local market prices.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $850-860/mt FOB for March shipment, moving sideways compared to December 22.
“The downtrend of CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market has negatively affected market players’ sentiments, which may drag down ex-China CRC offer prices in the near future,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a decreasing trend amid declining ferrous metal futures prices. Approaching the end of the year, demand for CRC has been weak, exerting a negative impact on prices. It is expected that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market may edge down slightly in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 5,366/mt ($842/mt) ex-warehouse, down by RMB 44/mt ($6.7/mt) compared to December 22, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 29, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,456/mt ($699.5/mt), decreasing by RMB 102/mt ($16.0/mt) or 2.2 percent since December 22.
$1 = RMB 6.3735