Activity remains sluggish in China’s welded pipe market

Buying activity has remained slack in China's domestic welded pipe market influenced by the hot and rainy weather and the traditional off-season. However, over the past two weeks, domestic and export prices of Chinese welded pipes have been stable. Market players prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance as they are not confident of the prospects for the market in the coming period, considering the overall poor sales performance as well as the lack of positive developments in downstream industries. Most market insiders think that welded pipe prices in China will likely decline in the short run since local feedstock prices are down, while activity in the market is expected to remain sluggish in the coming weeks.
 
Current offers of locally produced 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 3,800-4,000/mt ($616-648/mt) ex-works, while domestic offers of welded pipes of grade Q195-235 are at levels of RMB 3,250-3,650/mt ($527-592/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT. Traders in Shanghai are offering Q215-Q235 welded pipes made to GB/T3091 at around RMB 3,300-3,450/mt ($535-559/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin and Beijing are offering similar pipes at RMB 3,250-3,330/mt ($527-540/mt) ex-warehouse.
 
Current export prices of welded pipes from large Chinese mills, 2"-10" grade B according to ASTM A53, are at around $590-620/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
 
$1 = RMB 6.17