MYSTEEL: China's HRC prices seen edging up in 2026

China’s hot-rolled coil (HRC) market in 2025 was characterized by a persistent supply-demand mismatch and a steady slide in prices, Mysteel’s annual report on the flat steel concluded. For the year ahead, China’s average prices for HRC are expected to strengthen slightly as a number of new downstream production facilities requiring hot coils as substrate will be commissioned, absorbing more HRC supply, according to the report.

"New production lines are expected to consume around 10 million tonnes of HRC", a Shanghai-based analyst told Mysteel Global. The distribution of HRC capacities nationwide will likely become more balanced this year, with North China and East China maintaining their lead in the nationwide share of supply while South China and Central China will