During the week ending December 14, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have moved up. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $600-610/mt FOB, edging up by $10/mt compared to December 7, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $610-640/mt FOB, February shipment, up by $10/mt compared to that on December 7.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
625 |
+10 |
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
635 |
+10 |
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
700 |
0 |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
605 |
+10 |
During the given week, steel pipe prices have moved on an uptrend amid the easing of Covid-19 measures, which has bolstered market sentiment. However, demand for steel pipe has been slack due to the cold winter weather. Recently, iron ore and coke prices have moved up, increasing steelmakers’ production costs. At the same time, steel pipes have been in short supply, also providing support for prices. It is expected that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
Rebar futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) stand at RMB 3,986/mt ($573.5/mt) on December 14, up by RMB 204/mt ($29/mt), or 5.4 percent compared to December 7, while up by 1.42 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 13.
$1 = RMB 6.9535
