Chinese LCO sellers bearish about price trends
2023-04-20 08:22:59 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 20 Apr 23 - Dragged by sellers' decreasing target prices and furious competition among suppliers, Chinese LCO suppliers lowered prices over the past week. Therefore, the current Chinese LCO mainstream prices dropped to RMB235-245/kg (USD34.1-35.5/kg) delivered D/A 180 days, a decrease of around RMB15/kg (USD2.2/kg) from one week ago. As buyers keep lowering target prices, suppliers forecasted that the Chinese LCO mainstream prices would keep going down in the forthcoming week.
A producer in North China forecasted that the Chinese LCO market would keep witnessing sliding prices in the coming week due to dropping prices from consumers. He quotes around RMB250/kg (USD36.3/kg) delivered D/A 180 days and considers selling at around RMB245/kg (USD35.5/kg) now, while he refused to sell at prices below RMB260/kg (USD37.7/kg) one week ago. He last sold five tons at around RMB300/kg (USD43.5/kg) in late March. "Dragged by wait-and-see attitudes and sliding prices of buyers, I have difficulty in gaining LCO orders at present, said the producer.
With an annual production capacity of 15,000t of LCO, the producer expects to produce only around 150t in April, down by 50t MoM. He produced approximately 4,000t and 1,000t respectively in 2022 and so far in 2023. He doesn't hold stock at the moment, unchanged MoM.
Another producer in South China predicted that the Chinese LCO mainstream prices would go down by around RMB5/kg (USD0.7/kg) in the upcoming week due to sufficient supply and consumers' decreasing target prices. They lower LCO mainstream quotation to around RMB240/kg (USD34.8/kg) delivered D/A 180 days and consider selling at about RMB235/kg (USD34.1/kg) now, while they refused to sell at prices below RMB250/kg (USD/kg) one week ago. "We last sold five tons at around RMB240/kg (USD34.8/kg) early this week," said the producer.
The producer, with an annual production capacity of 14,000t of LCO, estimates an output of around 500t this month, an increase of 100t MoM. They produced approximately 6,100t and 1,250t respectively last year and so far this year. They hold an inventory of around 150t now, without much change MoM.
A producer in North China forecasted that the Chinese LCO market would keep witnessing sliding prices in the coming week due to dropping prices from consumers. He quotes around RMB250/kg (USD36.3/kg) delivered D/A 180 days and considers selling at around RMB245/kg (USD35.5/kg) now, while he refused to sell at prices below RMB260/kg (USD37.7/kg) one week ago. He last sold five tons at around RMB300/kg (USD43.5/kg) in late March. "Dragged by wait-and-see attitudes and sliding prices of buyers, I have difficulty in gaining LCO orders at present, said the producer.
With an annual production capacity of 15,000t of LCO, the producer expects to produce only around 150t in April, down by 50t MoM. He produced approximately 4,000t and 1,000t respectively in 2022 and so far in 2023. He doesn't hold stock at the moment, unchanged MoM.
Another producer in South China predicted that the Chinese LCO mainstream prices would go down by around RMB5/kg (USD0.7/kg) in the upcoming week due to sufficient supply and consumers' decreasing target prices. They lower LCO mainstream quotation to around RMB240/kg (USD34.8/kg) delivered D/A 180 days and consider selling at about RMB235/kg (USD34.1/kg) now, while they refused to sell at prices below RMB250/kg (USD/kg) one week ago. "We last sold five tons at around RMB240/kg (USD34.8/kg) early this week," said the producer.
The producer, with an annual production capacity of 14,000t of LCO, estimates an output of around 500t this month, an increase of 100t MoM. They produced approximately 6,100t and 1,250t respectively last year and so far this year. They hold an inventory of around 150t now, without much change MoM.
