Local hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in China have gained RMB 100/mt ($14/mt) on Monday, May 18, compared to the previous working day, owing to healthy demand and production restrictions in Tangshan starting this week, which are aimed at reducing emissions.
The average local HRC price in China is at RMB 3,595/mt ($506/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information. If 13 percent VAT and three percent import duty (applied on Indian and Russian coils) are excluded, this level corresponds to $435/mt. The difference between prices in different regions in China is big, but in any case the visible hike in local prices has caused foreign HRC suppliers to increase their offer prices again.
The latest booking to China was done late last week for less than 40,000 mt of Russian HRC at $400/mt CFR ($360-365/mt FOB Baltic Sea). Indian mills have increased offers to $420-425/mt CFR China today, while deals were at $400-405/mt CFR last week. “We offered at $410/mt CFR and slightly higher to China [late last week], but now there are no offers below $420/mt CFR,” an Indian supplier said.
“There is interest in buying in China, but prices [for imported coils] increased very fast,” a trader said.
