Over the past two weeks, the Chinese welded pipe market has followed the upward trend seen in feedstock prices, though local buyers have not yet become active enough, while demand from foreign buyers is gradually getting better after the summer period.
Over the past two weeks, domestic prices of Chinese seamless pipes have increased by a maximum of RMB 100/mt ($15-18/mt), while export quotations have moved up by $15-20/mt. The price growth is also attributed to the new infrastructure projects in the railway and road sectors in China approved lately by the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC). Chinese seamless pipe mills have mostly been unwilling to suspend production. This will likely contribute to intensifying the oversupply in the market and the supply glut would limit the uptrend of prices in the coming period.
Chinese domestic prices of 2"-6" seamless pipes according to GB/8162-8163 are varying at around RMB 4,600-4,800/mt ($725-757/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT. Domestic prices of seamless pipes, 2"-8" grade B as per ASTM A106/API 5L, are at around RMB 5,500-5,650/mt ($868-891/mt) ex-works.
Current export offers of seamless pipes from most Chinese manufacturers for 2"-8" Sch 40 grade B material according to ASTM A106 are on average at $760-820/mt FOB, while bigger producers are offering the same pipes at about $850-900/mt FOB. Export quotations of 18"-28" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are at around $930-990/mt FOB, while 8"-12" pipes of steel grade S355 are offered at about $790-830/mt FOB.