The Italian welded pipe market has been sluggish over the past month amid low business activity in pipe consuming industries. However, Italian suppliers have pushed up their domestic and export offers for welded pipes by around €10-15/mt (down $13-20/mt) over the past month on the back of a slight uplift in raw material costs. Meanwhile, buyers remain inactive and prefer to wait for further market developments. Offers of Turkish and Bulgarian pipes to Italy have increased by €10-25/mt (down $3-20/mt) over the period under review. However, Italian buyers have been showing little interest in welded pipe imports during the past month due to the weakness of the euro against the dollar and higher import offer prices. Market players remain cautious about the outlook for the coming month as welded pipe demand in Italy is unlikely to recover during the winter season.
Italian welded pipes of 2"-6" size with wall thickness of 2.0-4.0 mm as per EN 10219 made from base steel grade S235JR hot rolled coil (HRC) are on sale to local clients at €515-540/mt ($597-626/mt) delivered. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 21 percent VAT.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €550-570/mt ($637-660/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €510-540/mt ($591-626/mt) ex-works (transportation overland).
Offers from Turkish suppliers of industrial welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HR coils are being given at an average of €540-565/mt ($626-655/mt) CFR to Italy and at €550-580/mt ($637-672/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Italian market are standing at an average of €540-570/mt ($626-660mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.16