Export offers at $460-$469/mt FOB China Northern China mill raises offers by $7/mt Asian hot-rolled coil prices edged higher Nov. 17, supported by firmer raw material prices and renewed talks of stricter production controls, China-based market participants said.
Platts assessed SS400 HRC of 3 mm thickness at $455/metric ton FOB China on Nov. 17, up $1/mt from Nov. 14. The same grade was assessed at $459/mt CFR Southeast Asia, up $1/mt over the same period.
Export offers were heard at $460-$469/mt FOB China Nov. 17, with a Northern China mill heard having raised offers by $7/mt from late last week to $469/mt FOB Jingtang. A major East China mill kept offers unchanged at $460/mt FOB Zhangjiagang, a Singapore-based mill source said.
Indicative offers for mainstream material were heard around $465/mt FOB Bayuquan, up $5/mt from Nov. 14.
Some China-based traders attributed the recovery to China’s Cabinet pledge on Nov. 14 to boost consumption by better aligning supply with demand and creating a favorable environment.
A Hangzhou-based trader said the recent appreciation of the yuan also provided additional support.
However, sentiment remained divided as buyers stayed cautious. Several trader sources said that despite the uptick in prices, fundamentals remained weak, with no visible improvement in demand.
A domestic trader said the movement in prices was mostly sentiment-based, adding that there was “absolutely no change to fundamentals”.
The most actively traded January HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 3,302/mt on Nov. 17, up Yuan 46/mt, or 1.4% from Nov. 14.
Platts assessed the spot price of Q235B 5.75 mm HRC at Yuan 3,300/mt ($464/mt) ex-stock Shanghai on Nov. 17, including value added tax, up Yuan 30/mt from Nov. 14.
In Vietnam, offers for wider-width Q235 HRC from China rose $4/mt from Nov. 14 to $474/mt CFR.
SAE1006 offers for 3mm-thick coils from a leading Indonesian mill also rose by $3/mt to $498/mt CFR Vietnam. Chinese offers were reported at $496/mt CFR Vietnam.
Indian offers remained steady at $496/mt CFR Vietnam for 30% 2mm-thick.
Platts assessed SAE1006 HRC at $468/mt FOB China on Nov. 17, up $1/mt from Nov. 14. The same grade of coil was up $1/mt over the same period at $494/mt CFR Southeast Asia.
