WEEKLY: China HRC export prices rise further, but demand lags

China's hot-rolled coil (HRC) export market trended upward over the past week, with mainstream offers seeing multiple rounds of increases. However, actual transactions for the flat steel remained subdued as most overseas buyers grew cautious amid fast-rising prices and U.S. tariff uncertainties ahead of the August 1 deadline, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.

As of July 25, the Chinese export price of SS400 3mm HRC under Mysteel's assessment gained for the second week by $10/t to $475/t FOB from North China's Tianjin port. At the start of last week, buoyed by positive macroeconomic expectations, Chinese export offers climbed above $470/tonne FOB, up by