MONTHLY: China's HRC prices in August to stay under pressure

China’s prices for carbon steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) are expected to remain under pressure this month, with few signs pointing to any broad recovery in prices, Mysteel’s monthly report on the commodity suggests. The key variable is the extent and scale of any production cuts that steelmakers might undertake to reduce their losses, it says.

During July, domestic hot coil prices generally softened, as demand from end-user sectors such as construction machinery makers and steel structure fabricators slowed significantly amid the summer heat and rains. The protracted weakness in HRC exports and fading cost-side support for hot coils in the latter half of last month combined