Global coil prices rise differently
2018-05-15 14:00:59
In December, global coil prices rose on the back of volume growth and rising costs. However, the increase in coil prices in Asia is limited, but it is expected to rise sharply in the future.
China's major consumer coil industry has been stable, but it has not been positive in driving the growth of domestic coil consumption. Most consumers, end users and distributors believe that there is sufficient inventory at the moment and only purchase a small amount of coils to replenish stocks. As a result, apparent consumption of coils has been reduced compared with market expectations. The recent increase in the spot price of coils is very small, with the price of hot rolled coils in Shanghai only increasing by 1%. In other parts of Asia, actual demand for coils also showed a weak performance. Local coil volumes were sluggish, and most of the transactions were mainly small ones. In the face of weak domestic and export demand, Japanese and Korean steel mills began to sell the coils cheaply, and the prices were even more competitive than the Chinese-made coils. In this context, the prices of local coils only rose slightly, with the price of HRC rising only slightly to US$620/t.
U.S. coil prices have risen. Although the U.S. manufacturing industry (especially the automotive industry) showed positive signs, the macroeconomic performance remains depressed and uncertainties remain. However, most of the US steel mills have already achieved the second round of price increases and are implementing the third round of price increases. It is likely that there will be a fourth round of price increases. The implementation of price increases by steel mills is based on the strong support of the increase in the number of coil orders and the prolonged delivery time. At the same time, the current inventory of coils has also dropped to a very low level. In addition, there is little pressure for the import of coils in the US market, which will help tighten the supply of the US coil market. Against the backdrop of cost growth, the price of U.S. coils has risen for four consecutive weeks despite the persistence of price increases. At present, the price of coils in the US Midwest is US$580/short ton.
In December, the market spot price in most markets in Europe was also reasonable. End users and distributors began to return to the market. At the same time, the capacity utilization rate of steel mills remained at a low level. As a result, the delivery time for the steel mills has been extended and many steel mills have now filled orders in January. In this context, German HRC prices rose by 10 EUR/t to 510 EUR/t. Italian coil prices rose even more, and the price of hot rolled coils rose by 35 euros/t to reach the base price of German HRC. In addition, on the whole, import volumes in the third place are still not competitive. The recent market turnover in the European market has been very active. Consumers believe that the low price of coils has passed.
China's major consumer coil industry has been stable, but it has not been positive in driving the growth of domestic coil consumption. Most consumers, end users and distributors believe that there is sufficient inventory at the moment and only purchase a small amount of coils to replenish stocks. As a result, apparent consumption of coils has been reduced compared with market expectations. The recent increase in the spot price of coils is very small, with the price of hot rolled coils in Shanghai only increasing by 1%. In other parts of Asia, actual demand for coils also showed a weak performance. Local coil volumes were sluggish, and most of the transactions were mainly small ones. In the face of weak domestic and export demand, Japanese and Korean steel mills began to sell the coils cheaply, and the prices were even more competitive than the Chinese-made coils. In this context, the prices of local coils only rose slightly, with the price of HRC rising only slightly to US$620/t.
U.S. coil prices have risen. Although the U.S. manufacturing industry (especially the automotive industry) showed positive signs, the macroeconomic performance remains depressed and uncertainties remain. However, most of the US steel mills have already achieved the second round of price increases and are implementing the third round of price increases. It is likely that there will be a fourth round of price increases. The implementation of price increases by steel mills is based on the strong support of the increase in the number of coil orders and the prolonged delivery time. At the same time, the current inventory of coils has also dropped to a very low level. In addition, there is little pressure for the import of coils in the US market, which will help tighten the supply of the US coil market. Against the backdrop of cost growth, the price of U.S. coils has risen for four consecutive weeks despite the persistence of price increases. At present, the price of coils in the US Midwest is US$580/short ton.
In December, the market spot price in most markets in Europe was also reasonable. End users and distributors began to return to the market. At the same time, the capacity utilization rate of steel mills remained at a low level. As a result, the delivery time for the steel mills has been extended and many steel mills have now filled orders in January. In this context, German HRC prices rose by 10 EUR/t to 510 EUR/t. Italian coil prices rose even more, and the price of hot rolled coils rose by 35 euros/t to reach the base price of German HRC. In addition, on the whole, import volumes in the third place are still not competitive. The recent market turnover in the European market has been very active. Consumers believe that the low price of coils has passed.