Activity is slow in the German seamless pipe market given lingering economic uncertainty. Domestic German seamless pipe prices have remained unchanged month on month, while customers have refrained from making major buying decisions. In the past month, import prices of Chinese seamless pipes have moved down by around €35-40/mt ($40-45/mt), while offers of Ukrainian pipes have declined by a maximum of €5/mt ($6/mt) over the same period. Market players believe that seamless pipe suppliers in Germany will continue to face pressure from sluggish demand, high inventories and stiff competition in the coming period.
German 2"-6" seamless pipes of grade S355 made to EN 10210 are being offered to local buyers at around €880-900/mt ($994-1,017/mt) delivered.
Export quotations of German 2"-4" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are in the range of €870-880/mt ($983-994/mt) FCA on theoretical weight basis.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L, are at about €540-580/mt ($610-655/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 €760-800/mt ($859-904/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 €950-960/mt ($1,074-1,085/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.13