Over the past month the UAE welded pipe market has seen reduced buying activity. Dubai's property sector has been hit hard by the global financial crisis, with developers slowing or canceling projects, and with jobs being slashed. Property prices, down around 50 percent from their peak levels, have been under pressure since late 2008 when the financial crisis and a slump in oil prices ended the six-year economic boom in the Gulf region. Prices in the emirate are expected to fall a further 10 percent in 2009 with the decline continuing into 2010. However, development projects are expected to be restarted in 2010. Dubai's second-largest listed developer, which plans to double the size of its property portfolio over the next five years, has handed over seven projects to investors in the third quarter and has committed to six more in 2010. Local welded pipe producers are hoping to see both market recovery and price stabilization soon. Meanwhile, domestic quotations of black welded pipes have declined by $25-50/mt over the past month because of slack demand and falling prices for flat products from the CIS and China. Welded pipe suppliers from South Korea have decreased their offer prices by $10-30/mt over the past month, while Chinese and Indian quotations have remained at previous levels.
Domestic prices for locally produced 1"-6" welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness grade B made to ASTM A53 or BS 1387 are at about $650-700/mt ex-works, while ½"-¾" pipe sizes with 1.8-2.0 mm wall thickness are at $680-720/mt ex-works. Offers of locally produced 1"-6" welded pipes with wall thickness up to 1.2 mm made from CRC are being given to the domestic market at around $750/mt ex-works. Galvanized pipes of 1"-4" size as per BS 1387 are quoted at about $760-780/mt ex-works.
Offers of Chinese ERW pipes up to 10" grade B as per ASTM A53/API 5L are being given to the UAE market at $690-720/mt C&F, compared to $680-730/mt C&F one month ago.
Indian suppliers are offering ERW pipes 1"- 6" as per BS 1387 (light series) or ASTM A53 at $780/mt C&F. Indian 6"-16" ERW pipes grade B made to API 5L are being offered to the UAE market at $800/mt C&F.
South Korean ERW pipes 18"-24" grade B made to ASTM A53/API 5L are currently being offered to the UAE at around $800-820/mt C&F, compared to $810-850/mt one month ago.