Ex-China CRC prices remained stable over the past week as sellers have not been in mood to cut prices ahead of still possible export duty from September. At the same time, demand has been poor and port congestions in China have been adding to the already negative situation in the market.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $1,070-1,090/mt FOB for October shipment, with the average prices moving sideways compared to that on August 18. The tradable level is still at $1,030/mt FOB as the highest. “The demand in the export market has remained slack due to the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby buyers mostly held a wait-and-see stance, while the rising iron ore prices provided certain support to market players’ sentiments,” an international trader told SteelOrbis.
During the given week, China’s domestic CRC prices have seen slight rises amid the increasing trend in HRC futures prices and raw material prices. However, demand from downstream users remained slack, thereby market players mostly held a wait-and-see stance towards prospect for the future market. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 6,423/mt ($993/mt) ex-warehouse, moving up by RMB 20/mt ($3.1/mt) compared to August 18, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of August 25, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 5,569/mt ($861/mt), increasing by RMB 87/mt ($13.4/mt) or 1.6 percent since August 18.
$1 = RMB 6.4728