MONTHLY: China's HRC prices to stay range-bound in January

After experiencing a small retreat in December, prices for carbon steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) in China are expected to fluctuate within a moderate range in January, Mysteel's latest monthly report on the flat product suggests.

During December, domestic HRC supply remained relatively loose, even though production eased slightly from November as steelmakers scaled back output in response to weakening demand. Consequently, by December 25 hot coil inventories in the 194 warehouses nationwide that Mysteel tracks were still 20% higher on year. However, underpinned by relatively firm