During the week ending December 20, the Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) market has seen slight fluctuations, though there have been no major price changes. At the same time, domestic market players have been maintaining a wait-and-see stance. Average HRC prices in China can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Downstream buyers have mainly been purchasing in small tonnages just to supplement supplies of certain HRC specifications. Meanwhile, with only moderate arrivals in the market, traders are not suffering from inventory pressure and so they are not in a rush to sell off their inventories at the moment. As some traders stated, they will continue to maintain a wait-and-see strategy instead of raising their offers amid insufficient demand.
In the given week, major domestic producers Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO) and Anshan Iron and Steel Group have both announced their new price lists for January 2012. In particular, WISCO has decided to increase its HRC prices by RMB 20-60/mt ($3-9/mt). With the adjustment, the offer of 3.0 mm x 1,250 mm x C SPHC HRC from WISCO is now standing at the price level of RMB 3,890/mt ($614/mt), while 5.5 mm x 1,500 mm x C Q235 HRC is priced at RMB 3,870/mt ($611/mt), both ex-mill. Market analysts expect that the increased offers from the mills will give a boost to market confidence.
Basically, the domestic HRC market in China has been relatively stable in the past week, as traders have opted to remain silent. It is thought that HRC prices in China may indicate a slightly weak trend in the short term.