Business activity has remained slack in the Italian welded pipe market. though Italian suppliers have mostly increased their prices following the upward price adjustments of domestic steelmaker Marcegaglia aimed at compensating for higher production costs.
Domestic and export prices of Italian welded pipes have gone up by around €40-50/mt ($72-85/mt) over the past month. Offers of Bulgarian pipes for Italy have also increased by €30-50/mt ($60-85/mt) over the period under review. Only quotations of Turkish material have indicated a decrease, declining by €20-30/mt ($8-22/mt) over the same period. Besides, demand for welded pipes in Italy from consuming industries remains slack amid the poor financial and economic situation in the country, resulting in low activity among local traders. Italian trading companies still prefer to keep stocks low, making purchases only when necessary.
Most market players believe no improvements will occur during summer since demand for local and foreign materials is unlikely to increase.
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 €580-600/mt ($772-799/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 €650-670/mt ($865-892/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €600-630/mt ($799-839/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €580-600/mt ($772-799/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €610-630/mt ($812-839/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 ($679-719/mt) CFR to Italy and at €520-550/mt ($692-732/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Spanish market are standing at an average of €610-630/mt ($812-839/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.331