Due to the slack demand from the South Korean pipe-making industry, with no sign that Chinese domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) price stopped falling, Chinese HRC export to South Korea is facing a hard time.

Currently, Chinese HRC including Boron is quoted at US$540/ton CFR South Korea while cold rolled coil (CRC) price has fallen to about US$610-US$620/ton FOB.

Now, it is estimated that the transaction price of US$540/ton CFR is workable for HRC but both sellers and buyers are quite cautious.

About CRC, since the Chinese domestic leading mills announced to cut the price, the market price is to probably drop further.