The Chinese domestic seamless pipe market has continued to see quiet activity. Over the past two weeks, domestic mills' prices of seamless pipes have remained unchanged amid slack buying against a backdrop of cautious sentiment in the market, while local stockists have cut their offers by RMB 50-150/mt ($14-15/mt) in order to boost sales. Slack summer demand for seamless pipes from foreign buyers has kept most export offers of Chinese material unchanged. Most seamless pipe suppliers in China have no intention of adjusting their quotations in the coming period, supported by firm production and purchasing costs. Market participants have no confidence regarding the prospects for the market in the coming period and think both the market situation and prices are unlikely to change in the near future.
Domestic prices of seamless pipes, 2"-8" grade B as per ASTM A106/API 5L, are at around RMB 6,000-6,100/mt ($972-988/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT. Chinese domestic prices of 2"-6" seamless pipes according to GB/8162-8163 are varying at around RMB 5,000-5,100/mt ($810-826/mt) ex-works. Chinese ex-stock prices for 2"-8" seamless pipes according to GB/8162-8163 in Shanghai are at around RMB 3,700-3,900/mt ($599-632/mt) ex-warehouse, including 17 percent VAT, while traders in Tianjin and Beijing are offering the same pipes at around RMB 3,700-4,050/mt ($599-656/mt) ex-warehouse.
Current export quotations from most Chinese manufacturers for 2"-6" grade B seamless pipes according to ASTM A106/API 5L are on average at $650-680/mt FOB.
Export quotations for 7" casing J55 as per API 5CT are in the range of $780-800/mt FOB, quotations for 9 5/8" casing are at $820-840/mt FOB, with 13 3/8" casing at $870-880/mt FOB.
Export quotations of 5 1/2" tubing of P110 grade as per API 5CT are at levels of $1,230-1,270/mt FOB.
$1 = RMB 6.17