Over the past week (July 29-August 5) the Chinese cold rolled market has continued the price uptrend of the previous couple of weeks but at an even steeper rate. Prices have increased by around RMB 200/mt ($29/mt) within just a single week. The rapid rising trend registered in the domestic cold rolled market has been triggered mainly by the price hikes of the domestic steel mills and the speedy recovery of the local hot rolled market. As prices in China's cold rolled market have been on the rise for some time now, some market players have started to become more cautious even though many others still expect to see further price increases in the coming period.
Product name |
Specification |
Category |
Average price (RMB/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
1.0 mm x 1,250 x C |
SPCC |
5,410 |
+243 |
792 |
|
CRS |
1.0 mm x 1,250 x 2,500 |
SPCC |
5,500 |
+233 |
805 |
In the eastern Chinese market, some traders have started to supply materials at the current high rates, fearing a sudden drop in market prices. In the southern Chinese market, few sales have been concluded at the high end of the market price range, while not many traders have been content to sell at low prices.
With few new arrivals in the northern Chinese market, overall inventory levels have remained flat over the past week. In addition, the upticks in cold rolled coil ex-mill offers given by two domestic steelmakers, Tangshan Steel and Hebei Steel Group, have played an important role in boosting traders' confidence. In contrast to the other markets, the northern Chinese market has started to indicate a shortage of supplies of cold rolled products, as traders are holding on to inventories and waiting for further price increases.
Based on census data, as of July 30 cold rolled coil inventory in the Shanghai market stood at 313,900 mt, 2,000 mt less compared with the July 23 data.
On July 30, Hubei Province-based Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd (WISCO) announced an increase of RMB 400/mt ($59/mt) in its cold rolled coil prices for September. Thus, the price of Q195 1.0 mm cold rolled sheet given by this company is now at RMB 5,250/mt ($769/mt), while its Q195 1.0 mm cold rolled coils are now priced at RMB 5,200/mt ($761/mt). All prices exclude 17 percent VAT and are effective from July 30.
The cold rolled coil prices of the leading domestic steel mills are now mostly ranging at RMB 5,300-6,100/mt ($776-893/mt) ex-mill, including tax.
It is expected that the Chinese cold rolled market will maintain its rising trend in the coming week, though there is some possibility of sideways movement.