Chinese welded pipe producers continue to suffer from lackluster domestic demand with market transactions on the scarce side, while foreign demand for Chinese welded pipes also remains sluggish due to the unstable global economic environment. Meanwhile, Chinese welded pipe producers have stabilized their domestic prices over the past three weeks, while export offers have gone down by a maximum of $10/mt. Market insiders do not expect Chinese welded pipe prices to rebound in the near term because buying is unlikely to improve during the summer.
Current offers of locally produced welded pipes, 2"-6" Q215-Q235 grade, are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 3,900-4,000/mt ($616-632/mt) ex-works, while 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are at RMB 4,800-4,900/mt ($759-775/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT.
Current export prices of welded pipes from large mills, 2"-8" grade B according to ASTM A53, are varying at around $730-760/mt FOB on actual weight basis, while export offers of smaller mills are standing at $650-680/mt FOB.