On April 27, SteelOrbis reported that Chinese traders were seeking to motivate buyers and reduced HRC prices to a wide range at $610-630/mt CFR, while CRC continued stable at $665-670/mt CFR.
Sources inform SteelOrbis that offers to Chile over the past week have been at around $615-625/mt CFR for HRC and $660-665/mt CFR for CRC. The lower ranges were offers for high volume deals.
HRC prices narrowed $5/mt on each end of the previous range while CRC prices declined $5/mt. A source noted that the political uncertainty from global discussions on tariffs and retaliation by the US, China, Japan, and EU has subdued trade. Overall given the “thin trading and soft prices” in the Chinese market this week, a source reports that buyers will likely continue to wait until June 1 to have a clearer picture of whether prices have bottomed out. The source added that due to the positive forecast for Chiles’ growth by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 2.9 percent for 2018, domestic activity is expected to drive purchases in H2.