Negative conditions prevail in Romanian seamless pipe market

Romanian seamless pipe suppliers have continued to cut prices over the past month amid slack end-user demand, softening raw material prices and unfavorable weather. Over the past month, domestic and export prices of seamless pipes in Romania have fallen by €10-20/mt ($14-28/mt) as suppliers look for orders in a seasonally weak market. Market players believe the market picture will remain unchanged in the near future. However, in March, a probable rise in raw material quotations and an expected pick-up in buying activity may enable Romanian suppliers to push up their seamless pipe prices.
 
Romanian domestic quotations of 3"-10" seamless pipes made to ASTM or EN are at about €880-920/mt ($1,206-1,260/mt) delivered, excluding 24 percent VAT.
 
Export offers of 3"-10" seamless pipes of grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are being given by ArcelorMittal Roman to the external markets at around €920-940/mt ($1,260-1,288/mt) FCA, 16" pipes are at levels of €1,000-1,060/mt ($1,370-1,452/mt) FCA, while 18"-20" pipes are at about €1,320-1,390/mt ($1,808-1,904/mt) FCA, all for February production.
 
Import offers of 3"-4" seamless pipes from the Czech Republic (ArcelorMittal) of grade B as per ASTM A106 are being given to the Romanian market at €930-960/mt ($1,274-1,315/mt) CPT.
 
€1 = $1.37