During the week ending July 23, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to move up, though there has been a slowdown in the upward movement. Activity in the market has been at good levels at lower prices. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Traders have remained cautious in the past week, contributing to the slowdown of the uptrend of local HRC prices. Buyers in the downstream market have gradually accepted the increased prices. In the meantime, some distributors have chosen to replenish their stocks again due to the volume of orders they have received.
A number of negative factors also exist in the market, including the difficult financial environment, so it might not be wise for traders to build up large stocks at present.
Overall, it is thought that in the coming week Chinese domestic HRC prices will fluctuate within a narrow range.