While incentive measures announced by the Chinese government have helped improve sales in the automotive and household appliance sectors, downward movement has continued to prevail in the CRC market in China.
On June 11, major domestic producer Baosteel announced its new prices for July delivery, with its prices of both hot rolled coil (HRC) and CRC dropping by RMB 200/mt ($31/mt). The recent decreases seen in flat steel market prices influenced Baosteel in its decision to cut prices, while decreasing market demand from end-users was also a factor. Low construction activity in June increases the risk of price decreases. The downward price adjustment by Baosteel has reduced cost support in the Chinese CRC market.
The Chinese domestic CRC market is expected to maintain its soft trend in the coming week.
$1 = RMB 6.32