Ex-China offer prices of cold rolled coil (CRC) have moved sideways in the past week as demand from overseas has been at critically low levels.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at $455-460/mt FOB for late June, moving sideways compared to April 15. However, the export market is still quiet, though the reference deal price was at $445-450/mt FOB to Southeast Asia and South America.
During the given week, ferrous metal futures prices have fluctuated within a limited range, while sharp decreases in crude oil prices in the global market have exerted a negative impact on market players’ sentiments. Though demand from downstream users in China has improved, inventories of CRC are still at relatively high levels, which will negatively affect CRC prices.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,666/mt ($517/mt) ex-warehouse, down RMB 30/mt ($4.2/mt) compared to April 15, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 22, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,211/mt ($453/mt), increasing by RMB 15/mt ($2.1/mt) or 0.47 percent since April 15.
$1 = RMB 7.0903
