During the week ending May 24, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved down sharply. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $510-530/mt FOB, declining by $45/mt compared to May 17, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $530-550/mt FOB, July shipment, moving down by $35/mt compared to that on May 17.
|
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
|
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
540 |
-35 |
|
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
540 |
-35 |
|
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
600 |
-40 |
|
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
520 |
-45 |
During the given week, average steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have seen sharp decreases amid the big declining trend in ferrous metal futures prices. The production of steel pipe increased, while the demand from downstream users remained slack, exerting a negative impact on prices. Meanwhile, the rainy weather in several regions of China negatively affected the construction activities, weakening the demand for steel pipe. It is expected that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market may edge down in the coming week.
As of May 24, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,551/mt ($503/mt), decreasing by RMB 224/mt ($32/mt) or down by 5.9 percent since May 17.
$1 = RMB 7.056