Although most Chinese cold rolled coil (CRC) mills have maintained their prices relatively stable over the past week in line with the slow trade, ex-China workable CRC prices have moved down over the past week, mainly due to an increased number of low-priced non-VAT offers from traders.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $540-555/mt FOB, for January shipment, mainly the same as week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $530-545/mt FOB, versus the range of $535-545/mt recorded last week.
In the meantime, during the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have edged up amid tight supply and the increasing trend of HRC futures prices. However, demand for CRC has been slack, and so downstream users have been concluding purchases in line with their needs. Most traders have sought to boost sales, aiming to bring in cash before the end of the year. Currently, market players’ optimism has started to increase as the government’s economic work conference is approaching.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,877/mt ($538.5/mt) ex-warehouse, edging up by RMB 34/mt ($4.7/mt) compared to November 27, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of December 4, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,525/mt ($490/mt), increasing by RMB 52/mt ($7.2/mt) or 1.5 percent since November 27, while down 0.23 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 3.
$1 = RMB 7.1934
