Despite low end-user demand, round billet prices in the CIS have continued to stand at high levels. Quotations of Ukrainian and Russian billets for Ukrainian pipe producers have increased by $25-35/mt over the past month. But at the same time, export prices of round billets from the CIS have decreased by $10/mt.
Offers of October production billet from Russia's OEMK are being given to the Ukrainian market at $460/mt DAF, up by $30-35/mt from the levels for September production material ($425-430/mt DAF). Offers of round billet from Ukraine's Dneprovsky (Dzerzhinsky) to Ukrainian mills are being given at $445-460/mt ex-works, compared to $420-430/mt ex-works last month. Export quotations of round billets from the CIS are in the range of $430-450/mt FOB for material produced in October. As demand in the CIS billet export market remains low, it is expected that round billet prices may deteriorate to the level of $420-440/mt FOB in the coming weeks.
Following the rising trend in round billet prices, export offers of Ukrainian and Russian seamless pipes for October-November production have risen by $10-50/mt compared with the prices for September production.
Export prices from Ukrainian mill Interpipe for October-November production hot-formed seamless pipes of 57-219 mm diameter, of 10, 20 steel grades, as per GOST 8731/8732, are varying in the range of $860-900/mt FOB, with 273-325mm diameter pipes in the range of $950-1000/mt FOB Black Sea ports, depending on the destination. 2"-8" seamless pipes of grade B, as per ASTM A106/API 5L, are offered by the same producer at an average of $880-950/mt FOB, with 10"-12" sizes at $980-1,050/mt FOB.
Export offers of October production seamless pipes with diameter of 57-168 mm made from steel grade 10, 20 according to GOST 8731/8732 from Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Tube Works are at $760-780/mt FOB.
The prices for October production seamless hot-formed pipes of 73-168 mm diameter of 10, 20 grade as per GOST 8731/8732 of Ukraine's Tubex Commodities are varying at around $780-800/mt FOB.
The export offers of Russian seamless hot-formed pipes of 33.7-219.1 mm diameter, made to GOST, ex Uraltrubostal (Pervouralsky Novotrubny Works) are at $740-750/mt FOB, for November output. Quotations of seamless pipes of 273-457 mm diameter with wall thickness up to 20 mm from Uraltrubostal (Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant) are varying in the range of $760-780/mt FOB.
Export prices for seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter up to 425 mm of 10, 20 steel grade made to GOST 8731/8732 from Russian producer TMK's subsidiary Taganrog Pipe Plant are at about $760-780/mt FOB.
The prices for October production hot-formed seamless pipes ex-Belarus SW (BMZ), of 60-168.3 mm diameter as per EN 10255, are at about $890-920/mt FCA (€610-630/mt), with material as per EN 10210 at around $945-990/mt FCA (€650-680/mt).
As the latest production statistics show, Ukrainian seamless pipe output increased quite strongly at the start of the third quarter. Demand for seamless pipes in the Middle Eastern countries is expected to gain strength after Ramadan and so CIS seamless pipe suppliers will likely increase their export prices. However, strong competition from the Chinese suppliers will not allow the CIS suppliers to raise their prices significantly. In the European market, CIS suppliers have more freedom to increase export prices given the absence of Chinese material due to European antidumping measures.