Demand for commercial seamless pipes in Europe remains subdued. Although distributors occasionally have to fill specific gaps in their stocks, they are very cautious about placing orders due to the downward global trend of prices in recent months. Demand from end-users remains quiet overall. Domestic and export prices for Italian seamless pipes have declined by a maximum of €20/mt ($23/mt) over the past month due to sluggish demand and falling raw material prices. Quotations of Romanian material have weakening by €30/mt ($34/mt), while prices of Czech pipes have declined by €15-20/mt ($17-23/mt). Import offers of Chinese seamless pipes have moved down by €15-30/mt ($17-34/mt) over the past month, while prices for Ukrainian material have decreased by €25/mt ($29/mt). The Italian seamless pipe market may remain dormant in the coming month given the weak sentiment in the market.
Current domestic prices for Italian seamless pipes of 2"-6" size as per ASTM or EN are at about €980-1,000/mt ($1,117-1,140/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian seamless pipes of 2"-6" Sch 40 of grade B as per ASTM A106 are at around €1,000-1,030/mt ($1,140-1,174/mt) FOB.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM, are at about €600-640/mt ($684-730/mt) CFR Italy. Prices are exclusive of antidumping (AD) duties of 17.7-39.2 percent.
Ukrainian 2"-6" seamless pipes as per GOST, ASTM or EN are offered to the Italian market at around €805-825/mt ($917-941/mt) CPT (12.3-13.8 percent AD duty not included).
Prices for Romanian origin seamless steel tubes (ArcelorMittal Roman) of 3"-10" grade B made to ASTM or as per EN are at about €920-950/mt ($1,049-1,083/mt) CPT.
Czech origin 3"-10" seamless steel tubes (ArcelorMittal Ostrava), as per ASTM, are quoted for Italian consumers at around €900-935/mt ($1,026-1,066/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.14