During the week ending December 13, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have edged up. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $580-600/mt FOB, increasing by $10/mt compared to December 6, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $590-610/mt FOB, January shipment, rising by $10/mt compared to that on December 6.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
600 |
+10 |
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
600 |
+10 |
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
690 |
0 |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
590 |
+10 |
During the given week, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have risen slightly amid the increases in coke prices. However, demand for steel pipe has been slack, which may weaken the support for prices. Following the production restrictions for environmental protection purposes in Shandong Province, steel pipe producers have resumed production, increasing the supply to the market, which has exerted a negative impact on prices. HRC futures prices have increased compared to last week, but declined by 1.89 percent on December 13, reflecting the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players. Moreover, the weather is now a lot colder in China, which may negatively affect construction activities and drag down steel pipe prices in the coming week.
As of December 13, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,058/mt ($570/mt), increasing by RMB 30/mt ($4.2/mt) or up by 0.74 percent since December 6, while declining by 1.89 percent compared to the previous trading day (December 12).
$1 = RMB 7.1126
