Demand has remained weak in the Italian welded pipe market amid the ongoing bad economic outlook across Europe. Over the past month, Italian suppliers of welded pipes have decreased their domestic and export offers by €10-20/mt ($11-22/mt) amid negative conditions in the market and very low demand from consuming industries. During the same period, Turkish suppliers have cut their offers for Italy by €40-45/mt ($44-50/mt), while import offers of Bulgarian welded pipes have decreased by €10-15/mt ($11-17/mt). Market players believe it will be difficult to increase prices in the current market conditions.
Current local prices for 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 HR coils are at about €530-540/mt ($583-594/mt) ex-works from Arvedi Tubi Acciaio, while offers from Marcegaglia are being given to local customers at €500-520/mt ($550-572/mt) ex-works. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 21 percent VAT. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes, E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 (not normalized), are at about €620-630/mt ($682-693/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €540-570/mt ($594-627/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €500-540/mt ($550-594/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €530-580/mt ($583-638/mt) CPT.
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 €510-540/mt ($559-591/mt) CFR to Italy and at €520-560/mt ($572-616/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Italian market are standing at an average of €505-530/mt ($556-583) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.10