The current situation in the seamless pipe market in Turkey is not clear. Most buyers of seamless pipes in the country prefer to follow a wait-and-see policy. Comparing with the data for late April, quotations of Chinese seamless pipes have increased by $10-20/mt; however, according to information from market sources, prices of Chinese seamless pipes have been declining during the last two weeks. Import offers of seamless pipes from Ukraine have dropped by $190-200/mt over the past month, with Ukrainian seamless pipes becoming the most attractive for Turkish customers. New prices for seamless pipes from Russia are being awaited. It is expected that Chinese and Russian suppliers will follow the downward policy of Ukrainian manufacturers in order to bring in orders.
Demand for seamless pipes in the Turkish market is not sufficiently strong. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), imports of seamless pipes to Turkey are increasing, with the March 2010 volume indicating a 20.03 percent rise over March 2009. Total exports in the first quarter of this year reached 38,742 tons, up 7,651 tons or 24.61 percent year on year. The main suppliers of seamless pipes to Turkey remain Russia, Ukraine and China.
Current quotations for Chinese seamless pipes 1 1/4"-8" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are in the range of $950-1,010/mt C&F Turkey's Marmara Sea ports, while 10"-16" pipes are at $970-1,050/mt C&F.
June-July production pipes from Ukrainian producer Interpipe with diameter of 42-377 mm made of steel grade 10, 20 according to GOST 8731/8732 are being offered to the Turkish market at about $880-920/mt C&F.
Russian producer Uraltrubostal (Pervouralsky Novotrubny Works) was offering July production seamless hot-formed pipes with diameters of 33-219 mm made to GOST 8731/8732 at about $1,040-1,050/mt C&F, but currently has stopped giving offers because of the uncertainty surrounding quotations for round billets.
Import offers of seamless pipes from Russian producer TMK are not being given to the Turkish market at present as prices are still being decided. The most recent quotations of seamless pipes from TMK subsidiary Volzhsky PP with diameter up to 219.1 mm made to GOST 8731/8732 were being given to the Turkish market at about $970-1,000/mt C&F.