As of August 22, in China's three main steel markets, i.e., Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing, the average price of 20# (GB/T8162-1999) grade 108 mm x 4.5 mm seamless pipe now stands at $697/mt, with 20# (GB/T8163-1999) grade 219 mm x 6 mm seamless pipe at $735/mt. Meanwhile, on the same date, Q195-215 grade 48 mm x 3.25 mm welded pipe and Q215-235 grade 114 mm x 3.75 mm welded pipe prices in the above markets are standing at $629/mt and $636/mt. All the above prices include 17 percent VAT.
China's domestic seamless pipe market has mostly moved on a stable trend during the past week, though some slight upticks have also been observed. Demand is still slack and activity levels in the market are low. Due to the rising movement of billet prices in the middle of August, certain local seamless pipe markets in eastern China have indicated slight increases in prices. However, most traders still lack optimism and this has limited the upward movement of prices. Currently, there is not much possibility of seamless pipe prices declining, given the support of upstream costs. As a result, China's seamless pipe market is expected to generally follow a sideways trend in the week ahead.
The local Chinese welded pipe market has mainly indicated stable movement in the past week, while some small upward movements have also been seen in some regions of the country. The main reason for the firmness of the market is the higher level of costs, while not much improvement has been seen in the trade volume. However, as the weather in China is not as hot as it was, demand is expected to increase. There now appears to be less room for upward movement in domestic welded pipe prices following previous increases. In recent days, steel strip prices in China have declined slightly. If domestic steel strip prices continue to show weakness, then domestic welded pipe prices may also start to move on a soft trend.