China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to rise on Thursday February 4 amid gains in the futures market, while exporters are winding down ahead of the Chinese New Year next week.
Domestic
Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,440-4,450 yuan ($687-689) per tonne, up 10-30 yuan per tonne
A Shanghai-based trader said trading activity during the day was higher than Wednesday after prices rose.
He said this could be due to downstream buyers restocking out of fear of further price increases.
While downstream demand has generally fallen recently, it is still higher than around the same time in the past few years, according to several sources who attributed this to companies expecting to resume work earlier after the Chinese New Year break due to workers deciding against returning to their home towns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
China's public holiday for the festival is over February...