In spite of the fact that real demand has not been exceptional due to the number of holidays in April, the welded tubes and tubular goods sector in Italy is experiencing upward pressure on prices.
Producers are in fact pushing for increases of several percentage points in the levels of their sales quotations. The rises will probably be effective from May and be of the order of a few percentage points.
This hike in quotations is caused by the continuous rise in the prices of raw materials and ,in particular, in the prices of coils, which make their influence felt in the tubes sector at a delay of a couple of weeks.
Apparent demand looks particularly brilliant. This trend may in part be dependent on the trend seen in prices. Real demand, on the other hand, is in line with the norms for the season: in spite of the pauses which followed one after the other during the month of April due to the different holidays, real demand is nevertheless positive.
For the weeks ahead, the feeling among traders is that a rising trend is on the cards, with a consolidation of the increases which have been sought and also further upward movements.