During the week ending January 10, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have seen declines amid the downward trend of ferrous metal futures prices. At present, export offers for welded pipes given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $580-600/mt FOB, moving down by $15/mt compared to January 3, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $590-610/mt FOB, for March shipment, decreasing by $10/mt compared to January 3.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/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 |
710 |
- |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
590 |
-15 |
During the given week, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved down following rises in the previous week amid the gradually increasing gap between supply and demand. Import iron ore prices have been at relatively high levels, bolstering steel pipe prices firmly from the cost side. Demand for steel pipes may remain slack, which would exert a negative impact on prices. It is expected that steel pipe prices will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
As of January 10, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 4,004/mt ($564/mt), decreasing by RMB 156/mt ($22) or down 3.75 percent since January 3, while down 1.23 percent compared to the previous trading day (January 9).
$1 = RMB 7.1055
