Poor sales performance in China's seamless pipe market

Seamless pipe prices in China have continued to soften over the past two weeks influenced by price drops for raw materials including iron ore and steel billet. Over the past two weeks, domestic mills' prices of seamless pipes have declined by a maximum of RMB 50/mt ($8/mt), while local stockists have cut their offers by RMB 50-150/mt ($8-24/mt). Export offers of seamless pipes from China have declined by $20-30/mt over the same period. In the meantime, the market performance does not show any signs of improving, although September is the traditional peak season for business. Most market participants are not confident on the future prospects for the market considering the poor sales performance and do not anticipate a rise in prices. Negative macroeconomic data have also contributed to the pessimism among market players.
 
Domestic prices of 4"-8" seamless pipes according to GB/8162-8163 are varying at around RMB 4,000-4,450/mt ($651-725/mt) ex-works, including 17 percent VAT.
 
Chinese ex-stock prices for 2"-8" seamless pipes according to GB/8162-8163 in Shanghai are at around RMB 3,500-3,700/mt ($570-603/mt) ex-warehouse, including 17 percent VAT, while traders in Tianjin and Beijing are offering the same pipes at around RMB 3,300-3,650/mt ($537-594/mt) ex-warehouse.
 
Current export quotations from most Chinese manufacturers for 2"-6" grade B seamless pipes according to ASTM A106/API 5L are on average at $580-620/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
 
$1 = RMB 6.14