Posted on 04 Jan 2023
China's hot-rolled coil (HRC) price increased during December 23-30, but trading activities in the spot market were quiet last week, a market insider said.
The spot price of Q235 4.75mm HRC under Mysteel's assessment grew by Yuan 34/tonne ($4.9/t) on week to Yuan 4,163/t including the 13% VAT as of December 30.
Most traders gained confidence and lifted their offering prices after noting the rise in HRC futures prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), a Shanghai-based analyst said. However, sluggish demand from end-users amid the low season for HRC consumption prevented the prices from growing further.
The most-traded HRC contract on the SHFE for May delivery closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 4,143/t on December 30, up by Yuan 117/t from the settlement price of December 23, according to the official data.
Over December 22-28, production of hot coils among 37 Chinese steelmakers under Mysteel's survey stood at 3.1 million tonnes, up by 81,200 tonnes or 2.7% on week. During the same survey period, the surveyed mills' hot-rolling capacity utilization rate also gained by 2.07 percentage points on week to 78.95%, Mysteel's data showed.
Some mills in East China resumed production after maintenance stoppages, leading to the rise in output, the Shanghai source added.
The rise in HRC prices further cooled buying enthusiasm among end-users. Besides, some traders were cautious about winter restocking and opted to replenish at a normal pace, even with just few weeks remaining before the Chinese New Year holiday over January 21-27, another Shanghai-based analyst said.
HRC stocks at trading houses across the 33 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking increased by 64,800 tonnes or 3.3% on week to 2 million tonnes as of December 29. HRC inventories held by 37 surveyed mills slipped by 17,000 tonnes or 2.1% on week to 811,200 tonnes as of December 28.
Source:Mysteel Global
