Due to worsening demand from foreign buyers, export quotations of Turkish welded pipes have decreased by a maximum of $100/mt over the past two weeks. Domestic demand for welded pipes has also weakened. Most traders expect a further decline in the market and so prefer to adopt a wait-and-see stance. Domestic prices for welded pipes from some producers have declined by $20-30/mt over the period under review. However, Turkey's biggest pipe producer Borusan Mannesmann reported a 14 percent year-on-year increase in its sales tonnages in the first quarter of 2010. The company says that there is an improvement in demand from the construction, production and automotive sectors. The general expectation in the industry is for some price decreases in the third quarter in line with the summer season, although prices are expected to be above the levels of the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, given the changing global conditions, it is not possible to predict raw material prices.
Current export prices of Turkish ERW pipes and hollow sections of 2-6 mm wall thickness made from HRC according to EN 10219 or ASTM A500 are at the level of $710-750/mt FOB. Export offers of ERW pipes and hollow sections of 1.5 mm wall thickness made from HRC are at around $800-830/mt FOB, while the same products made from CRC are at $810-850/mt FOB. Water and gas ERW pipes of 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 from S235 grade HR products are being offered for export at about $730-770/mt FOB.
Current discount rates of Tosyali Holding for local buyers are at 32-34 percent for cash payment, compared with 27-29 percent two weeks ago. As a result, taking into account the discount levels, domestic prices of hollow sections with wall thickness of 2-4 mm made from HRC as per EN 10219 are in fact at around $570-590/mt ex-works, excluding VAT. Hollow sections with wall thickness of 1 mm made from CRC as per EN 10219 are at $730-740/mt ex-works. Actual offers of industrial pipes of 48-89 mm outside diameter and 2.0-3.0 mm wall thickness made to made to EN 10219/EN 10305-3 from HRC are being given to the domestic market at $580-610/mt ex-works, while ERW pipes made from CRC are at the level of $750-760/mt ex-works (taking discounts into consideration).
At the same time, local Turkish producer Borusan Mannesmann recently decreased discounts on its industrial pipes, water pipes and hollow sections from 8-10 percent to 6-8 percent. However, the strengthening of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has eaten some $20/mt of the growth in dollar terms. As a result, taking into account the discount levels, domestic prices of hollow sections with wall thickness of 2-4 mm made to EN 10219 are in fact at the level of $800-830/mt ex-works. Quotations for industrial pipes of 48-89 mm outside diameter and 2.0-3.0 mm wall thickness made to EN 10219/EN 10305-3 from HRC are at the level of $805-825/mt ex-works (taking discounts into consideration).
SteelOrbis has also learned of offers of black welded pipes from Borusan of 323.9 mm outside diameter and 8 mm wall thickness made to EN 10217 from S235 grade HR products at $930/mt ex-works. Offers of ERW pipes of 273-323 mm outside diameter and 6-10 mm wall thickness from S235 grade HR products from Yucel Boru are being given to the domestic market at around $830-900/mt ex-works. Quotations from Umran Boru for welded pipes of 273-355 mm outside diameter and 5.5-8.74 mm wall thickness made from S275 grade HRC are at $1,030-1,130/mt ex-works.