During the week ending April 26, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved down. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $560-570/mt FOB, moving down by $45/mt compared to April 19, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $570-580/mt FOB, July shipment, decreasing by $50/mt compared to that on April 19.
|
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
|
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
575 |
-50 |
|
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
575 |
-60 |
|
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
640 |
-55 |
|
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
565 |
-45 |
During the given week, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved on an overall downtrend amid the slack demand from downstream users. Traders in Shanghai even mentioned they have not replenished stocks for around ten days, reflecting the prevailing bearish sentiments among market players. The performance of the real estate industry is still not good, exerting a negative impact on the steel pipe market. However, steel pipe producers are expected to reduce their outputs, which may bolster the market. It is expected that steel pipe prices may fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week, though they will likely indicate a rebounding trend following the Labor Day holiday (April 29-May 3).
As of April 26, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,771/mt ($545/mt), decreasing by RMB 238/mt ($34.4/mt) or moving down by 5.94 percent since April 19.
$1 = RMB 6.9237