During the week ending June 20, the Chinese cold rolled coil (CRC) market has been trending downward. Average CRC prices in the main Chinese cities can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the given period, while few CRC transactions have been concluded in the domestic market at the top of the price range, low-priced offers have been plentiful in the market. In Shanghai, low-priced orders have been placed for CRC materials produced by domestic producers WISCO, Shougang and Maanshan Steel. Meanwhile, supplies of materials from Anshan Steel have been scarcer, with quotations for these materials at higher levels.
Meanwhile, Anshan Steel and Shougang Group have lately announced reductions in their prices for July shipments.
In the past couple of months, the price gap between cold rolled products and galvanized steel products has gradually increased, leaving a higher margin for galvanized steel producers. Under these circumstances, many steel mills may reduce their production of CRC and increase their focus on output of galvanized materials.
It is expected that the Chinese CRC market will maintain its soft trend in the coming week.