Buyer activity has not improved in the Turkish seamless pipe market after the end-of-Ramadan holiday. In this situation some importers have decreased their offers to Turkish buyers, while others have kept their offer levels firm.
Over the past month, offers of Chinese seamless pipes to Turkey have decreased by $15-20/mt. Ukrainian and Russian producers have left their offers unchanged, while import quotations of Romanian material have decreased by a maximum of $5/mt over the past month due to currency fluctuations.
Seamless pipe suppliers may try to increase their offers in September in anticipation of improved demand in autumn, but market players doubt whether the market is ready to accept higher prices as end-user demand is very weak in the country due to liquidity shortages.
Chinese suppliers are offering seamless pipes of 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM to the Turkish market in the price range of $820-950/mt CFR.
September production pipes from Ukrainian producer Interpipe with diameter of 50-114 mm as per GOST or ASTM are being offered to the Turkish market at about $1,075-1,100/mt CFR, while pipes with diameter up to 323 mm are quoted at around $1,105-1,130/mt CFR. 10" seamless pipes of grade X42 as per API 5L from Interpipe are quoted to Turkish customers at $1,295-1,300/mt CFR.
Quotations of Russian seamless pipes from Tagmet (TMK Group) with diameter 114.3-323.8 mm made to GOST or ASTM are being given to the Turkish market at about $1,140-1,150/mt CFR for September-October production, while pipes with diameter of 323.8-406.4 mm are offered at $1,355-1,365/mt CFR for January-February 2013 production. Russian producer ChTPZ is offering November production seamless pipes with diameter up to 168 mm made to GOST or ASTM at about $990-1,020/mt CFR, while pipes with diameter 323.8-406.4 mm are quoted at $1,180-1,200/mt CFR.
Import offers of seamless pipes from Romania (ArcelorMittal), 12"-14" of grade B made to ASTM, are being given to the Turkish market at $1,320-1,355/mt CPT, while 3"-10" pipes are quoted at around $1,285-1,300/mt CPT.
6"-10" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM from Italian producer Tenaris Dalmine are quoted to Turkish customers at $1,760-1,860/mt CPT, while 16" pipes are at around $1,975-1,980/mt CPT.