During the week ending December 17, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have remained stable. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $460-470/mt FOB, moving sideways on average compared to December 10, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $470-490/mt FOB, for February shipment, remaining stable on average compared to December 10.
| Product name | Quality | Spec. | Price ($/mt) FOB | Weekly change ($/mt) |
| API 5L seamless pipe | Gr.B | 2’’-6’’ Std | 480 | - |
| Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) | J55 | 3’’-8’’ Std | 480 | - |
| Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) | ST37 | < 3’’ Std | 650 | - |
| Welded pipes | Gr.B | 2’’-6’’ Std | 465 | - |
During the given week, steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained unchanged amid the weak supply and demand situation due to frequent production restrictions in northern China. Some traders have been seeking to keep relatively low inventory levels and so they have been unwilling to build up stocks. Demand for steel pipes from downstream users will unlikely improve in the near future, exerting a negative impact on prices. It is thought that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market will edge down slightly in the coming week.
As of December 17, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,245/mt ($460/mt), decreasing by RMB 37/mt ($5.2/mt) or 1.1 percent since December 10, while increasing by 0.03 percent compared to the previous trading day, December 16.
$1 = RMB 7.0573