"HRC Prices and Demand Weaken; Inventory Declines, Cost Pressures Persist"
Cold-rolled and hot-rolled prices edged down this week, with overall transactions weakening WoW. In terms of supply, rolling line maintenance decreased WoW this week, with reduced impact volume, and overall HRC production increased. Demand side, apparent demand rebounded slightly this week. Inventory side, SMM's HRC social inventory this week was 4.5281 million mt, down 185,300 mt WoW, down 3.93% WoW. By region, North China, east China, and Northeast China saw notable inventory drawdowns, the central and western regions saw narrow destocking, while the South China market continued inventory buildup. Cost side, coking coal and coke futures weakened this week, suppressing coking coal and coke prices. Iron ore was in the doldrums following .....