During the past week, Chinese seamless steel pipe prices have followed a stable trend. After the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday at the start of the current week, players returned to the market but the general transaction volume has been low. Inventories have declined to a certain degree, though market players do not appear to be in a rush to purchase new products. Meanwhile, rises in upstream costs have pushed domestic welding pipe prices upward; however, the transaction volumes have been moderate, and some traders have lowered their prices in order to conclude deals.
Please click to see pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market as of April 7.
End-users in China still not very active in concluding seamless pipe purchases
Chinese domestic prices of 20# (GB/T8162-1999) grade 108 mm x 4.5 mm seamless pipe have been varying at around RMB 5,750-6,200/mt ($873-941/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT. Meanwhile, domestic prices of seamless pipes, 20# (GB/T8163-1999) grade 219 mm x 6 mm, have been at around RMB 5,800-6,150/mt ($880-933/mt) ex-works, including VAT.
Price fluctuations in the domestic seamless pipe market have been less severe than in the welded pipe market: quotations have been stable, with actual transaction prices at previous weeks' levels. During the past week, seamless steel pipe deliveries have been moderate, and end-users have not been very active in concluding purchases. It is expected that seamless steel pipe prices will remain stable in the coming period.
China's welded pipe market expected to continue to rise
Current local prices for Chinese welded pipes of Q195-215 grade 48 mm x 3.25 mm have been at about RMB 4,890-5,050/mt ($742-766/mt) ex-works (here and below on actual weight basis and excluding 17 percent VAT). Local quotations of Q215-235 grade 114 mm x 3.75 mm welded pipes have been at RMB 4,870-5,050/mt ($739-766/mt) ex-works.
Due to low inventory, welded pipe prices in China increased after the holiday. However, traders have reported some resistance to the higher prices. In the meantime, as China's central bank has raised interest rates again, some market players are maintaining a wait-and-see stance. Many traders state there will be fewer negative factors blocking the uptrend of prices in the future.