Buyers have become somewhat more active in the seamless pipe market in the UAE over the past month. However, foreign seamless pipe suppliers have adopted different price policies. Import quotations of Chinese suppliers have gone up by $10-30/mt over the past month, while quotations of Argentinian pipes have moved up by a maximum of $10/mt. Offers of Ukrainian line pipes have gone down by a maximum of $20/mt over the past month, while prices of Romanian material have declined by $10/mt. Over the same period, Japanese, South African and German suppliers have left their seamless pipe offers unchanged. Market players hope that the market will strengthen in the coming period with the support of activity on construction and oil and gas projects running in the country, bringing a greater possibility for suppliers to increase their prices.
Most offers of seamless pipes of 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM/API from small mills are being given to the local UAE market at $760-780/mt CFR, while large mills are offering the same material at around $880-900/mt CFR.
Quotations of Ukrainian (Interpipe) seamless pipes, 2"-6" Sch 40 grade B made to ASTM/API, are at $980-1,030/mt CFR.
Seamless pipes from Romania (ArcelorMittal) of 3"-10" grade B made to ASTM are quoted at about $1,380-1,410/mt CFR.
South African (ArcelorMittal) seamless pipes, 3"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API, are being quoted to the UAE in the range of $1,000-1,050/mt CFR.
Offers of seamless pipes from Argentina, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API from Tenaris, are being given to the UAE at $1,530-1,560/mt CFR.
Quotations from France and Germany (V&M) and from Japan (NSSMC) for seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API are at about $1,400-1,450/mt CFR.