China's CRC prices off 19% in 2020 on weak appliance, auto sectors

摘要

China's domestic cold-rolled coil prices have slumped 19% since the start of 2020 due to the coronavirus impact on global appliance and auto demand and are expected to remain subdued for the remainder of the second quarter and probably into Q3, market participants said this week. China's output of cold-rolled sheet, a major CRC product, fell 12% year on year to 7.22 million mt in Q1, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. However, end-user production fell by a greater extent over the same period, with home appliance production falling 22% on year and passenger car output plunging 49% on year.