The Chinese domestic welded pipe market has been characterized by a stable price trend over the past two weeks and decreasing domestic demand before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday (February 18-24). Meanwhile, China's welded pipe export prices have declined by $15-20/mt over the past two weeks due to the unpromising market conditions. Market participants remain pessimistic about the prospects for the market in the coming period due to the poor market performance, while they consider that welded pipe prices in China are likely to keep stable in the short run due to the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Current offers of locally produced 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 3,350-3,500/mt ($535-559/mt) ex-works, while domestic offers of welded pipes of grade Q195-235 are at levels of RMB 2,800-3,100/mt ($447-495/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT.
Traders in Shanghai are offering Q215-Q235 welded pipes made to GB/T3091 at around RMB 2,600-2,750/mt ($415-439/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin and Beijing are offering similar pipes at RMB 2,400-2,720/mt ($384-435/mt) ex-warehouse.
Current export prices of welded pipes from large Chinese mills, 2"-10" grade B according to ASTM A53, are at around $450-480/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
$1 = RMB 6.26