MONTHLY: China's HRC prices seen rising moderately in March

After another month in which hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China recorded a steady though mild decline in February, domestic HRC prices are projected to firm to some degree this month as a consequence of recovering end-user demand and declining coil stocks at mills and in commercial warehouses, Mysteel's latest monthly report on the commodity suggests.

During February, HRC supply remained relatively ample as integrated mills kept their hot strip mills in operation during the nine-day Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday over February 15-23. However, as most traders and coil buyers had shut their businesses during the holiday, HRC stocks held by steelmakers and traders steadily