Chinese welded pipe market receives support from cost side

The welded pipe market in China has witnessed an upward trend over the past two weeks on the back of higher prices of flat steel. Thus, mills' offers for the domestic market have increased by a maximum of RMB 50/mt ($8/mt) over the past two weeks, while traders' offers have moved up by RMB 50-150/mt ($8-24/mt). However, downstream demand remains soft, and so caution prevails as regards the prospects for the market in the coming period. Export offers of Chinese welded pipes have also increased by $10-20/mt over the past two weeks, supported by the rising trend in the domestic market. Meanwhile, there are still no signs of a demand rebound in the domestic and export markets as buyers consider that the current price increases lack support and may be short-lived.
 
Current offers of locally produced 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 3,600-3,800/mt ($588-621/mt) ex-works, while domestic offers of welded pipes of grade Q195-235 are at levels of RMB 3,050-3,400/mt ($498-556/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT.
 
Traders in Shanghai are offering Q215-Q235 welded pipes made to GB/T3091 at around RMB 3,150-3,300/mt ($515-539/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin and Beijing are offering similar pipes at RMB 3,030-3,140/mt ($495-513/mt) ex-warehouse.
 
Current export prices of welded pipes from large Chinese mills, 2"-10" grade B according to ASTM A53, are at around $550-600/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
 
$1 = RMB 6.12