During the week ending January 15, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved sideways. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $490-500/mt FOB, remaining stable compared to January 8, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $500-520/mt FOB, for January shipment, moving sideways compared to January 8.
| Product name | Quality | Spec. | Price ($/mt) FOB | Weekly change ($/mt) |
| API 5L seamless pipe | Gr.B | 2’’-6’’ Std | 510 | - |
| Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) | J55 | 3’’-8’’ Std | 510 | - |
| Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) | ST37 | < 3’’ Std | 670 | - |
| Welded pipes | Gr.B | 2’’-6’’ Std | 495 | - |
During the given week, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained unchanged. Steel pipe producers’ outputs have declined, while demand from downstream users has also slackened. Although the Chinese New Year holiday (January 28-February 4) is approaching, downstream users have been unwilling to restock, resulting in increasing inventory levels on the producers’ side. More steel pipe producers will implement maintenance works ahead of the long holiday, which will reduce the supply to the market and bolster prices to a certain degree. It is expected that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market will move sideways in the coming week.
As of January 15, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,417/mt ($475/mt), increasing by RMB 96/mt ($13.4/mt) or 2.9 percent since January 8, while up 0.92 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 14.
$1 = RMB 7.1883
