Although seamless pipe demand in Saudi Arabia remains firm on the back of numerous construction projects, local buyers of import material prefer to delay purchases amid the global downward trend and due to quite high stocks. Most foreign seamless pipe suppliers have decided to reduce prices amid sluggish demand in other markets as well.
Import seamless pipe offers from China have decreased by $50-70/mt over the past month. Import quotations of South African material have gone down by $45-75/mt over the past month, while offers of seamless pipes from Japan have declined by around $25/mt. Import offers of seamless pipes from Ukraine have stayed unchanged at previous levels. Saudi buyers are cautious as regards the future trend of the market given the approach of summer, the aggressive pricing of Chinese suppliers, and the continuing downtrend in the global market.
Most offers of Chinese seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM are being given to the Saudi Arabian market at $780-830/mt CFR, while quotations of seamless pipes from larger Chinese mills are at $900-950/mt CFR.
Quotations of Ukrainian seamless pipes (Interpipe) of 2"-10" grade B made to ASTM A106 to Saudi Arabia are at $1,105-1,140/mt CFR, while offers of seamless pipes as per API 5L are at $1,155-1,190/mt CFR.
South African seamless pipes (ArcelorMittal), 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106, are quoted at around $1,055-1,075/mt CFR Saudi Arabia.
Quotations from Japan (NSSMC) for seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are at about $1,375-1,425/mt CFR Saudi Arabia.