Trading was active in China's export hot-rolled coil market on June 21, with traders rushing to restock on expectations that prices will gain further.
Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,800 yuan ($550-553) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,780 yuan per tonne, narrowing upward 10 yuan per tonne. Prices climbed further on Friday on futures gains. The continuous increases seen in the futures markets have boosted sentiment, according to a Shanghai-based trader, but growth in spot prices "is much smaller compared with futures changes, which means the supply-demand relation hasn't shown much improvement - demand hasn't rebounded significantly", he said. Market participants believe that spot prices could rise further in the coming days as futures strengthen, but most do not expect big increases. Another factor supporting the growth in HRC prices is that some cold-rolled coil producers are cutting output due to...