Demand for Italian welded pipes is still very low in both the domestic and export markets. Domestic and export prices of Italian welded pipes have decreased by around €20/mt ($26-27/mt) over the past month. At the same time, offers of Turkish and Bulgarian pipes for Italy have remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, Italian welded pipe producers may try to lift their offers in the short term following recent hikes in flat steel prices. However, welded pipe demand in the Italian market remains sluggish despite low stocks and may start to improve at the beginning of next year at the earliest since business activity is expected to be slack before the Christmas and New Year holidays.
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 €560-600/mt ($726-778/mt) ex-works. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 21 percent VAT. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes of E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 are at about €660-690/mt ($856-894/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €590-630/mt ($765-817/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €560-600/mt ($726-778/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €600-630/mt ($778-817/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 €530-560/mt ($687-726/mt) CFR to Italy and at €540-580/mt ($700-752/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Spanish market are standing at an average of €580-610/mt ($752-791/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.296