Activity is still rather slack in the German seamless pipe market amid poor demand from the consuming industry and quite high stocks. Over the past month, quotations of seamless pipes in Germany have moved in different directions, influenced by uncertainties regarding the global economy. Domestic quotations of locally produced seamless pipes have remained stable over the past month, while export offers have declined by a maximum of €20/mt ($92/mt). Import prices of Ukrainian material have increased by €25/mt (down $36-39/mt) over the past month, while offers of Chinese pipes have moved up by €5-10/mt (down $34-43/mt). Prices for Romanian seamless pipes have declined by a maximum of €10/mt (down $86/mt). Over the period under review, offers of Italian pipes have remained unchanged in euro terms, but have declined by $80-84/mt in dollar terms. Meanwhile, most German buyers prefer to play a waiting game, as they seek to observe further market developments more carefully.
German 2"-6" seamless pipes of grade S355 made to EN 10210 are being offered to local buyers at around €900-920/mt ($954-975/mt) delivered.
Export quotations of German 2"-4" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are in the range of €880-900/mt ($932-954/mt) FCA on theoretical weight basis.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L, are at about €580-615/mt ($614-651/mt) CFR Germany, exclusive of antidumping duties.
Offers of Ukrainian 2"-6" seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 of steel grade B are in the range of €835-865/mt ($885-916/mt) CPT, exclusive of antidumping duties.
Romanian 4"-6" seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 of steel grade B are being offered to the German market at about €920-950/mt ($974-1,006/mt) CPT.
Prices for Italian seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106 are at about €1,020-1,050/mt ($1,080-1,112/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.06