During the week ending June 26, cold rolled coil (CRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued to edge down. Average CRC prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
In the Chinese domestic CRC market, traders have remained pessimistic over the past week. Amid the reduced credit being issued by domestic banks and the sharp falls in the futures and stock markets in China, the Chinese domestic steel industry is facing significant difficulties. Under these circumstances, it is expected that in the short term the Chinese cold rolled steel market will continue to slide down. On the one hand, despite the downtrend of prices, no significant overhauls are being implemented at mills, while excess supply in relation to demand still constitutes the main problem. On the other hand, during May and June Chinese cold rolled steel product exports have been on the low side. In addition, amid recent upticks for some steel products, some traders have rushed to place orders, even though actual market demand is not so strong. As regards the coming week, domestic cold rolled steel prices in China are expected to continue to decline.