Chinese CRC market slow
2024-04-30 08:33:13 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 30 Apr 24 - As end users bought enough materials in the past three weeks and show little intention in purchasing again this week with the approach of the May Day holiday, the domestic CRC market performed inactively on Monday, and prices went down slightly. Presently, the prevailing prices of CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C hover at RMB4,140-4,190/t (USD571-578/t) and RMB4,300-4,350/t (USD593-600/t) D/P respectively in Tianjin and Chengdu, down by RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) compared with late last week. Insiders foresee stable prices in the following one or two days as traders do not plan to adjust prices again seeing the coming holiday.
"End users tend to hold back from purchasing in view of the decreasing price signal as well as the arrival of the May Day holiday. We just sold 30t of CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C at RMB4,190/t (USD578/t) on Monday, and last sold 50t of the material at RMB4,200/t (USD580/t) last Sunday, while sold 100t a day in the middle of the month," stated a trader in Tianjin, quoting RMB4,200/t (USD580/t) D/P with the concession of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) for CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C at present. In the meantime, the trader points out that the demand from downstream industries remains weak, and some auto producers tend to replace CRC with HGI. Besides, the market inventory remains high and traders endeavor to cut stocks. Given the slow market, the trader shows little confidence in the market prospect in May, but he believes prices of CRC would stabilize before the May Day holiday, believing it's meaningless to decrease prices again with downstream clients taking the holiday in succession.
Presently, the trader holds around 3,500t in stock. Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 2,000t, he might sell approximately 1,700t of CRC in April, up from 1,500t in March. The trader sold about 5,700t of CRC in the first four months of 2024.
"The market weakens this week with the sentiments of market participants calming down gradually after the short-term boom in the middle of the month. End users strictly purchase from hand to mouth at present, while they build some stocks traditionally before the May Day holiday," expressed another trader in Chengdu of Sichuan province. In addition, he discloses that the market is full of bearish atmosphere due to the sluggish demand from downstream industries. To promote sales, the trader gave the counteroffer of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) on Monday, while refused any concession when quoted RMB4,340/t (USD599/t) D/P for CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C last Sunday. He just sold 30t of the material at RMB4,330/t (USD598/t) on Monday, while sold 70-80t a day two weeks ago. Given the May Day holiday approaches and downstream plants would suspend production, the trader does not plan to decrease prices further and predicts flat prices of CRC in the upcoming one or two days.
With the typical monthly sales volume of 2,500t, the trader sold about 2,500t of CRC in April, up from 1,500t in March. He recorded the sales volume of approximately 6,500t from January to April of 2024, holding around 1,000t in inventory for the moment.
"End users tend to hold back from purchasing in view of the decreasing price signal as well as the arrival of the May Day holiday. We just sold 30t of CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C at RMB4,190/t (USD578/t) on Monday, and last sold 50t of the material at RMB4,200/t (USD580/t) last Sunday, while sold 100t a day in the middle of the month," stated a trader in Tianjin, quoting RMB4,200/t (USD580/t) D/P with the concession of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) for CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C at present. In the meantime, the trader points out that the demand from downstream industries remains weak, and some auto producers tend to replace CRC with HGI. Besides, the market inventory remains high and traders endeavor to cut stocks. Given the slow market, the trader shows little confidence in the market prospect in May, but he believes prices of CRC would stabilize before the May Day holiday, believing it's meaningless to decrease prices again with downstream clients taking the holiday in succession.
Presently, the trader holds around 3,500t in stock. Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 2,000t, he might sell approximately 1,700t of CRC in April, up from 1,500t in March. The trader sold about 5,700t of CRC in the first four months of 2024.
"The market weakens this week with the sentiments of market participants calming down gradually after the short-term boom in the middle of the month. End users strictly purchase from hand to mouth at present, while they build some stocks traditionally before the May Day holiday," expressed another trader in Chengdu of Sichuan province. In addition, he discloses that the market is full of bearish atmosphere due to the sluggish demand from downstream industries. To promote sales, the trader gave the counteroffer of RMB10/t (USD1.4/t) on Monday, while refused any concession when quoted RMB4,340/t (USD599/t) D/P for CRC SPCC 1.0mm*1,250mm*C last Sunday. He just sold 30t of the material at RMB4,330/t (USD598/t) on Monday, while sold 70-80t a day two weeks ago. Given the May Day holiday approaches and downstream plants would suspend production, the trader does not plan to decrease prices further and predicts flat prices of CRC in the upcoming one or two days.
With the typical monthly sales volume of 2,500t, the trader sold about 2,500t of CRC in April, up from 1,500t in March. He recorded the sales volume of approximately 6,500t from January to April of 2024, holding around 1,000t in inventory for the moment.
