Chinese seamless pipe prices have gone up over the past two weeks pushed up by rising round billet prices. In particular, locally produced round billets are currently being offered to the Chinese market at around RMB 5,000-5,200/mt ($755-785/mt), up by RMB 50-100/mt from the early December levels. As a result, over the past two weeks, domestic prices of seamless pipes have increased by RMB 50-100/mt ($10-20/mt) due to higher production costs. Export quotations of seamless pipes from Chinese producers have climbed by $40-50/mt over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, domestic and export demand remains rather low. Nevertheless, in view of anticipated further increases in raw material prices and inflation, seamless pipe makers are not expected to cut their prices significantly. At the same time, the seasonal weak demand will prevent seamless pipe prices from going up. Thus, the market is unlikely to see a recovery in the near future. Market players expect stronger demand from local consumers in the second quarter of 2011 due to the new projects to be started under China's 12th five-year plan period (2011-2015).
Chinese domestic prices of 2"-8" seamless pipes according to GB/8163 are varying at around RMB 5,600-5,650/mt ($845-850/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT. Domestic prices of seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B as per ASTM A106/API 5L, are at around RMB 6,000-6,300/mt ($905-950/mt) ex-works.
Current export offers of seamless pipes from Chinese manufacturers for 2"-12" grade B material according to ASTM A106/ASTM A53/API 5L are on average at $900-990/mt FOB. Export quotations for 2"-4" tubing J55 as per API 5CT, plain ends, are in the range of $1,100-1,130/mt FOB, while quotations for 6"-8" casing are at $1,000-1,050/mt FOB.
According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), China exported 352,990 mt of seamless pipes in November, indicating an increase of 18.2 percent from the October level and up 46.7 percent year on year. Exports of seamless pipes from China in the first 11 months of 2010 reached 3.452 million mt, up 19.7 percent on the corresponding period of 2009.