Ex-China cold rolled coil (CRC) prices have moved down over the past week amid the decreasing trend in the local market coupled with further declines seen in HRC futures prices in China.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $540-550/mt FOB, for January shipment, edging down by $5/mt on average week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $535-545/mt FOB, versus the range of $545-550/mt recorded last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen declines amid decreasing HRC futures prices. Inventory of CRC has been at relatively low levels, bolstering prices to a certain degree. As the weather gets colder and colder, construction activities have slowed down, weakening the support for CRC prices. Demand from the manufacturing industry has been quite firm, exerting a positive impact on CRC prices, while downstream users have been unwilling to build up high stocks.
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 3,843/mt ($535/mt) ex-warehouse, edging down by RMB 13/mt ($1.8/mt) compared to November 20, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of November 27, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,473/mt ($483/mt), decreasing by RMB 16/mt ($2.2/mt) or 0.46 percent since November 20, while down 0.06 percent compared to the previous trading day, November 26.
$1 = RMB 7.1982