Demand for cold rolled coil (CRC)
remained poor in the Middle East, with offers from China, the CIS and other
suppliers falling in value even faster than long steel products.
A wave of speculations triggered
by news from the financial markets in China, coupled by a short-lived rise in
demand from stockists had helped to stabilize CRC prices in September. But
since early October cold rolled coil has been shedding value, especially in the
last two weeks, with offers from producers falling by $20-$4o/MT.
CRC, of 1 mm thickness was
offered this week in China’s domestic markets at an average of RMB 5,200, with
tax ($703, without tax)/ MT ex-works. Overall the prices have slid by more than
RMB 120 (about $20)/MT within the past 10 days in the thin CRC range. The drop
was steeper in China’s export market – as well as in thicker CRC in domestic
markets.
Domestic demand and prices in
other Asian CRC producing countries, such as Taiwan and South Korea, also
followed suit. Early this week, 0.7-1.0 mm thick (JIS G3141) cold rolled coil
averaged at NTD 23,000 with VAT ($727 without VAT)/MT, delivered. This
represented about $18/MT drop, compared to last week.
Demand from Turkey’s domestic
market remained low, with prices also decreasing, compared to last week. The
price for 0.7-2 mm thick cold rolled coil early this week ranged at $830-$860
(excluding VAT) per ton ex-warehouse, while CRC of 0.4-0.6 mm thickness was
offered at $870-$910 per ton ex-warehouse. However, no deals were reported this
week as the market slowed down in the wake of Al-Adha holidays next week.
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