Following the rise in domestic prices for flat steel, the majority of China's welded pipe producers have increased their export and domestic offers by a small margin over the past two weeks. Mills' domestic quotations have increased by a maximum of RMB 100/mt ($17/mt) during the past two weeks, while export quotations of Chinese welded pipes have increased by $10-20/mt over the same period. The uptrend in the Chinese welded pipe market has already started to slow down as purchasing activity begins to slacken with the approach of the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival holiday.
However, the market outlook for the period after the Spring Festival is basically optimistic as it is traditionally the peak consumption season.
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 4,300-4,500/mt ($685-717/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 3,890-4,050/mt ($620-645/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin and Beijing are offering similar pipes at RMB 3,770-3,900/mt ($600-621/mt) ex-warehouse.
Current export prices of welded pipes from large mills, 2"-10" grade B according to ASTM A53, have stayed at around $720-750/mt FOB on actual weight basis.