The Polish welded pipe market continues to improve gradually. Domestic and export offers of Polish welded pipes have increased by €30-50/mt over the past month due to better demand and increased prices for coils. In particular, Ukrainian HRC (Zaporizhstal) with wall thickness 2-8 mm of grade S235JR is at €480-485/mt DAF for October production. Demand for welded pipes from end-users is strong enough in Poland and welded pipe prices are expected to firm up further. Poland's construction industry suffered in the first half of this year, but is expected to recover somewhat in the second half. The remainder of the year is expected to be positive, and the construction industry could end 2010 with an average annual growth of 3.5 percent. Poland's automotive sector is relatively strong also. Domestic output of welded pipes and hollow sections grew by 12 percent year on year in January-June 2010.
Current offers of locally produced ½ "-2" welded pipes and hollow sections of 2-3 mm wall thickness made from S235JR grade HRC according to EN 10219 are being given to the domestic market at around €710-740/mt ex-works, exclusive of 22 percent VAT. Domestic quotations of ½"-6" water ERW pipes of 2.0-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 from ArcelorMittal Krakow are at €680-710/mt ex-works. Current domestic prices of galvanized ERW pipes are in the range of €880-900/mt ex-works.
Export quotations of Polish ERW pipes and hollow sections of 2-5 mm wall thickness made from S235JR grade HRC as per EN 10219 are at the level of €670-700/mt FCA. Offers of similar pipes with wall thickness of 1.5 mm made from S235JR grade HRC as per EN10219 are in the range of €700-740/mt FCA.