During the week ending May 3, average hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in the Chinese domestic market have softened for thick specifications, while rising slightly for thin specifications. Transaction activity in the overall market is now at low levels, having slackened compared to the previous week. Average HRC prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, with sharp declines seen in ferrous metal futures prices, HRC prices in the domestic spot market came under negative pressure in the first half of the past week. Although HRC prices indicated decreases, demand from downstream users did not improve significantly, resulting in slacker transaction activity. In the latter part of the given week, the declines in the ferrous metal futures market came to an end, while demand recovered only slightly on the back of replenishment ahead of the Labor Day holiday (April 30-May 2). It is thought that HRC prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely indicate a fluctuating trend in the coming week as market players will maintain a wait-and-see stance against the background of sharp fluctuations in the ferrous metal futures markets.
| Product Name | Spec. | Category | City | Steel Plant/Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly Change (RMB/mt) |
| Medium HRC | 5.75 mm x 1,500 mm x C | Q235B/SS400 | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 3,070 | 474 | ↓10 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 3,060 | 473 | ↓110 | |||
| Lecong | Liuzhou Steel | 3,050 | 471 | - | |||
| Average | - | 3,057 | 472 | ↓40 | |||
| Thin HRC | 2.75 mm x 1.,250 mm x C | Q235B | Shanghai | Tangshan Steel | 3,230 | 499 | ↑130 |
| Tianjin | Tangshan Steel | 3,210 | 496 | ↓60 | |||
| Lecong | Lianyuan Steel | 3,220 | 498 | - | |||
| Average | - | 3,220 | 498 | ↓23 |
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.47