During the week ending May 15, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved on a stable trend. At present, export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $650-740/mt FOB, while export offers for API 5L welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $560-575/mt FOB.
During the given week, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved on a stable trend, while transaction activity has been at low-to-medium levels. The escalation of the US-China trade war has negatively impacted the steel futures market. On the other hand, production cuts aimed at tackling pollution continue to provide some support for steel pipe prices. In this context, mainstream Chinese pipe producers will likely keep their prices unchanged. Inventories of seamless pipes have decreased gradually as downstream demand has not been as good as the market had expected. With the coming summer season and the instability caused by trade tensions, it is expected that steel pipe export prices from China will move down in the coming week.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L Seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
695 |
0 |
Seamless pipe, casing |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
740 |
0 |
Seamless Pipe, tubing |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
1.000 |
0 |
Welded Pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
567.5 |
0 |
