During the week ending September 17, the Chinese domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) market has continued its declining trend amid ongoing sluggishness of demand. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday are approaching in China, domestic traders are willing to sell HRC at lower prices to bring in cash before the long holiday period, dragging down market prices. Despite there being more than a working week between the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, some traders will likely take a break starting from the Mid-Autumn Festival and not resume their business activity until after the National Day holiday. Accordingly, transaction activity is expected to be very slack in the coming period. It is thought that China’s domestic HRC market will move sideways in the short term.