Chinese welded pipe market has remained sluggish due to torrential rains in most regions at the beginning of March. As a result, Chinese welded pipe producers have left their domestic offers unchanged at the previous levels. Export prices have also failed to move up so far due to unstable demand from foreign buyers. Market players report that transaction activities have slightly recovered in line with improved market confidence, but demand is still not strong enough to support price hikes. However, the market is expected to trend up steadily when the weather gradually gets warmer.
Current offers of locally produced welded pipes, 2"-6" Q215-Q235 grade, are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 4,000-4,100/mt ($630-645/mt) ex-works, while 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are at RMB 4,900-5,000/mt ($770-790/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT.
Current export prices of Chinese welded pipes, 2"-8" grade B according to ASTM A53, are varying at around $730-780/mt FOB on actual weight basis.