The Chinese seamless pipe market is calm at present due to the current national holiday. Over the past two weeks, the upper end of domestic prices for Chinese seamless pipes has remained stable, but the lower end has increased by RMB 300/mt ($45/mt). At the same time, export quotations of seamless pipes from China have increased by $50-70/mt over the period under review due to currency fluctuations and the weakness of the dollar against RMB. Most participants in the Chinese seamless pipe market have optimistic expectations concerning the revival of demand after the holiday period. Thus, the domestic prices of Chinese seamless pipes may continue to go up after the holiday period in anticipation of demand growth and higher production costs. Meanwhile, buying activity from foreign customers is predicted to be weak throughout the rest of the year.
Chinese domestic prices of seamless pipes, 2"-8" grade B according to ASTM A106 or GB/8163, are varying at around RMB 5,900-6,000/mt ($880-900/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT.
Current export offers of seamless pipes from Chinese manufacturers for 2"-8" of grade B material according to ASTM A106/ASTM A53 are on average at $850-900/mt FOB, while some big producers are offering 2"-8" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 at $980-1,050/mt FOB. Export quotations of 1" seamless pipes of grade B made to ASTM A106 are at $930-1,020/mt FOB, while prices of ½"-3/4" pipes are at $1,000-1,160/mt FOB.
Export quotations for 2"-4" tubing J55 as per API 5CT, plain ends, are in the range of $950-1,000/mt FOB, while quotations for 6"-8" casing are at $900-950/mt FOB.
China's seamless pipe exports dipped slightly month on month in August. According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), China exported 339,029 mt of seamless pipes in August, indicating a decrease of 7.4 percent from the July level but up 42.2 percent year on year. Exports of seamless pipes from China for the first eight months of this year reached 2.4687 million mt, up 18.9 percent on the corresponding period of last year. Chinese exporters of seamless pipes do not expect exports to improve before the end of the year as they face pressure from the stronger RMB and have to raise their export prices in dollar terms, while foreign customers are not inclined to accept higher prices.