Due to slack consumer activity and lower production costs, seamless pipe producers in Ukraine and Russia have continued to decrease their export prices. Prices for seamless pipes from Ukraine's Interpipe have not changed, while fellow Ukrainian producer Dnepropetrovsk Tube Works is planning to revise its export quotations. Export prices for seamless pipes from Volzhsky PP, Tagmet and Seversky PP (TMK, Russia) have decreased by $10-15/mt over the past month, while offers of seamless pipes produced by Sinarsky PP have increased by $20-40/mt due to fluctuations in the euro-US dollar exchange rate. At the same time, there is no real impression of any sustainable improvement in demand. The majority of producers are not expecting any great volume of sales in August, and so it is quite probable that quotations will remain at relatively stable levels during the month in question. Meanwhile, it is expected that in September demand and prices will increase in the global steel product market, which will also affect pipe prices. CIS exporters will continue to show a very keen interest in regions rich in oil and gas.
Offers of round billet from Ukraine's Dneprovsky (Dzerzhinsky) were being given to Ukrainian mills at $465/mt ex-works for July production, while billet from OEMK (Russia) were available to Ukrainian mills at $460/mt DAF. Foreign buyers believe sluggish semi-finished steel demand in August may push export prices of square billets down. The same developments will apparently be observed in the round billet segment. It is expected that in August prices of round billets for Ukrainian mills may decline to $440-450/mt.
Export prices from Ukrainian mill Interpipe for August-September production hot-formed seamless pipes of 42- 159 mm diameter, of 10, 20 steel grades, as per GOST 8731/8732, currently vary in the range of $870-900/mt FOB, while seamless pipes of 168-377 mm diameter are quoted for export at $880-920/mt FOB. 2"-10" seamless pipes of grade B, as per ASTM A106/API 5L, are offered by the same producer at an average of $900-950/mt FOB.
Export offers of August-September production seamless pipes of 70-168 mm diameter, of 10, 20 steel grades according to GOST 8731/8732 from Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Tube Works were at $950/mt FOB. However, currently the producer is not giving export offers as it intends to revise export quotations of seamless pipes.
There are no export offers from Russian seamless pipe producer Uraltrubostal (Pervouralsky Novotrubny Works) for the moment as the company prefers to focus on the domestic market where conditions are quite favorable.
Export prices for August-September production seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter up to 219 mm of 10, 20 steel grade made to GOST 8731/8732 from Russian producer TMK's subsidiary Volzhsky Pipe Plant are at about $935-950/mt FOB, while offers of seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 are at $960-970/mt FOB. Export prices for pipes with 219-426 mm diameter made from steel grade 10, 20 to GOST 8731/8732 from Volzhsky PP are at $1,040-1,050/mt FOB.
Seamless pipes with diameter 114-219 mm of 10, 20 steel grade made to GOST 8731/8732 from Tagmet are quoted in the range of $935-950/mt FOB.
Seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter 70-168 mm, 10, 20 steel grade, made to GOST from Russian producer Sinarsky PP are quoted at $1,065-1,070/mt FOB, while pipes made to ASTM A106 are offered at $1,155-1,160/mt FOB.
Export offers of seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter 219-355 mm made to GOST by Seversky PP are at $1,065-1,070/mt FOB. Export prices from Seversky PP for seamless pipes with diameter 219-355 mm of grade B made to ASTM A106 are at $1,120-1,130/mt FOB.