Although demand for Chinese welded pipes from both foreign and local customers remains low, domestic and export prices of the material have grown amid an increase in coil prices and a shortage of the products in the country caused by official policy restricting power supplies. Domestic prices of locally produced welded pipes have increased by RMB 100-300/mt ($15-45/mt) over the past two weeks, while export offers have gone up by $40-50/mt. Shrinking supplies, increasing production costs and sliding inventories in the current market will create favorable conditions for the further increase of welded pipe prices in the coming period. Also, the rising RMB is pushing up the export costs of Chinese steel mills and traders. At the same time, however, market players remain cautious as welded pipe demand is unlikely to recover during the winter season. Therefore, the Chinese welded pipe market is generally expected to follow a slight fluctuating trend in the period ahead.
Current offers of locally produced welded pipes, 2"-6" Q215-Q235 grade, are being given to the domestic market at an average of RMB 4,600-4,800/mt ($690-720/mt) ex-works, while 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are at RMB 5,000-5,200/mt ($750-780/mt) ex-works. These local market prices include 17 percent VAT.
Current export prices of Chinese welded pipes, 2"-6" grade B according to ASTM A53, are varying at around $740-800/mt FOB on actual weight basis.