The Indian seamless pipe market has been seeing rather stable demand from local consumers. As a result, domestic producers have managed to raise their quotations by INR 2,000/mt ($70/mt, currency fluctuations taken into account) over the past month. The focus on infrastructure spending, the allocation of funds for railways and highways, the emphasis on power sector growth and the focus on rural and urban development augurs well for the steel pipe industry in India. Export offers of Indian pipes, on the whole, have remained within the previous price range. Market participants have also noted that the prices of Chinese pipes for the Indian market have risen by $100-110/mt over the period under review. Seamless pipe prices in India are likely to surge again, on the back of rising raw material costs. Further growth in India will be domestically driven. The automotive sector is clearly going to be a positive dynamic in India, a key to the industry's recovery.
Domestic quotations of locally produced seamless pipes 2"-4" grade B made to ASTM A106 are at around INR 50,000-52,000/mt ($1,100-1,145/mt) ex-works on theoretical weight basis, excluding tax.
Export offers of seamless pipes 3"-4" grade B as per ASTM A106 from Indian manufacturers are being given at around $1,000-1,040/mt FOB theoretical weight basis, while 2"-2 ½" pipes are at about $1,090-1,140/mt FOB.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes 2"-6" grade B as per ASTM A106/API 5L are at $810-840/mt C&F actual weight.