China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Tuesday March 23 while the inactivity in the export segment persisted amid sustained uncertainty over the country's export tax rebate for steel products.
Domestic
Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,050-5,080 yuan ($776-781) per tonne, down 10-40 yuan per tonne
Several Shanghai-based traders said spot sellers in the city had lowered their offers in response to HRC futures downtrend over most of the day.
But HRC futures snapped the downtrend and rallied in the late afternoon, which resulted in spot trading activity picking up.
A Tianjin-based trader said there was likely a lot of speculation in the futures market, resulting in its volatility.
Sentiment among investors is mixed, he said, with some of them believing mills' margins would...