During the week ending March 14, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have softened slightly, while transaction activity in the overall market has remained at low-to-medium levels. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, HRC inventories in the Chinese domestic market have remained at relatively high levels, exerting negative pressure on prices in the domestic spot market. Meanwhile, some traders have been experiencing tight liquidity and have reduced prices in order to increase sales and bring in cash. It is thought that HRC prices in China will either move on a slight downtrend or just fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
| Product Name | Spec. | Quality | 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 | Ansteel | 3,600 | 520 | ↓60 |
| Tianjin | Ansteel | 3,670 | 530 | ↓20 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 3,730 | 539 | ↓50 | |||
| Average | - | 3,666 | 530 | ↓43 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Ansteel | 3,710 | 536 | ↓60 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 3,740 | 540 | ↓20 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 3,840 | 555 | ↓40 | |||
| Average | - | 3,763 | 544 | ↓37 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.92