During the week ending February 21, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved sideways amid the decreasing trend seen in HRC futures prices. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $590-610/mt FOB, remaining stable compared to February 7, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $600-610/mt FOB, May shipment, moving sideways compared to February 7.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
605 |
- |
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
605 |
- |
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
710 |
- |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
600 |
- |
Steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways following the long holiday. Currently, there are offer prices in the steel pipe market, while no activity has been observed yet. Ferrous metal futures prices have seen declines, with iron ore futures prices especially moving down sharply, exerting a negative impact on market sentiments. At the same time, a strong wave of cold weather has hit China, also negatively affecting 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, while they will likely rebound later when the weather becomes better and all market players come back to the market.
As of February 21, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,916/mt ($551.5/mt), decreasing by RMB 52/mt ($7.3) or 1.3 percent since February 7, while remaining stable compared to the previous trading day (February 20).
$1 = RMB 7.103
