In the week ending June 2, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a slight downtrend, while transaction activity in the overall market has been slack. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
While iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have seen a sharp rising trend, iron ore spot prices first indicated upward movement but then started to show signs of softness, which weakened support for HRC prices from the cost side. Meanwhile, HRC inventory levels in the spot market have been at low levels, while the situation in the market of low prices, low inventory levels and slack transaction activity is unlikely to see any significant improvement in the coming period. It is expected that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge down slightly in the week ahead due to sluggish demand.
Product Name |
Spec. |
Category |
City |
Steel Plant/Origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
Medium HRC |
5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C |
Q235B/SS400 |
Shanghai |
Tangshan Steel |
2,440 |
393 |
↑20 |
Tianjin |
Tangshan Steel |
2,480 |
399 |
↓70 |
|||
Lecong |
Liuzhou Steel |
2,540 |
409 |
↓30 |
|||
Average |
- |
2,487 |
400 |
↓27 |
|||
Thin HRC |
2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C |
Q235B |
Shanghai |
Tangshan Steel |
2,520 |
406 |
↑30 |
Tianjin |
Tangshan Steel |
2,640 |
425 |
↓10 |
|||
Lecong |
Lianyuan Steel |
2,610 |
420 |
↓20 |
|||
Average |
- |
2,590 |
417 |
0 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.20