Ex-China CRC prices have increased slightly by around $5/mt over the past week, though in general trade has remained slow globally.
At present, export offers for CRC given by major Chinese mills are at around $610-640/mt FOB, for June shipment, moving up by $5/mt week on week. Meanwhile, the tradable levels for ex-China CRC have been heard at $610-620/mt FOB, against $605-620/mt FOB last week.
During the given week, CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market have declined amid the prevailing cautious sentiments. HRC futures prices have fluctuated during the given week, while only indicating slight changes compared to April 17. However, prices of raw materials and HRC have indicated continuous rises, shrinking the price gap between CRC and HRC, which has bolstered CRC prices to a certain degree. However, downstream users have been unwilling to purchase at higher prices, exerting a negative impact on the CRC market. It is thought that CRC prices in the Chinese domestic market are unlikely to increase significantly in the coming week, though downstream users may build up certain stocks ahead of the Labor Day holiday (May 1-5).
Average domestic 1.0 mm cold rolled coil spot prices in China are at RMB 4,090/mt ($576/mt) ex-warehouse, decreasing by RMB 23/mt ($3.2/mt) compared to April 17, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 24, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,835/mt ($540/mt), increasing by RMB 2/mt ($0.28/mt) or 0.05 percent since April 17, while up 0.45 percent compared to the previous trading day, April 23.
$1 = RMB 7.1025