During the week ending October 23, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved down further. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $510-520/mt FOB, decreasing by $15/mt compared to October 16, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $520-540/mt FOB, for January shipment, moving down by $15/mt compared to October 16.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
530 |
-15 |
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
530 |
-15 |
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
685 |
-10 |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
515 |
-15 |
During the given period, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated further decreases amid the prevailing cautious sentiments among market players. Lately, downstream users have been less active in concluding steel pipe purchases following the previous strong release of downstream demand ahead of the National Day holiday. As the weather turns cold in many regions, demand will slacken further and exert a negative impact on the steel pipe market. It is expected that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
As of October 23, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,476/mt ($488/mt), decreasing by RMB 111/mt ($16/mt) or 3.1 percent since October 16, while down 0.32 percent compared to the previous trading day, October 22.
$1 = RMB 7.1245
