The Indian seamless pipe market has remained slack as demand from both foreign and local customers is still extremely weak. Domestic offers of seamless pipes have decreased by INR 3,000-4,000/mt over the past month, though in dollar terms the decrease was a minimum of $5/mt due to currency fluctuations. Export offers of seamless pipes from Indian producers have gone up by $20-50/mt over the past month. Import offers of Chinese seamless pipes have moved down by $20/mt over the same period. However, given the number of projects announced in India, producers of seamless pipe are expected to raise prices. However, most of the new projects have not been started yet due to problems with acquisition of land and very long procedures for obtaining permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Meanwhile, credit issues in Europe will continue to depress exports of Indian seamless pipes to Europe, while exports to other destinations may start to pick up gradually.
Domestic quotations of 2"-6" seamless pipes of grade B made to ASTM A106 from top Indian pipe producers are at the level of INR 58,000-60,000/mt ($1,140-1,180/mt) ex-works, excluding tax.
Export offers of Indian seamless pipes, 2"-10" grade B as per ASTM A106, are standing at around $1,200-1,250/mt FOB.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" Sch 40 grade B as per ASTM A106, given to India are at $880-930/mt CFR on actual weight basis.