Buying activity in the Italian welded pipe market is rather low ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Domestic and export prices for Italian welded pipes have in general remained at the levels of one month ago, though in some cases increases of a maximum of €10/mt ($14/mt) have been seen due to rising production costs. In the import segment, quotations of Turkish material have decreased by a maximum of €10/mt ($14/mt) mainly due to currency fluctuations, while offers of Bulgarian pipes for Italy have gone up by a maximum of €10/mt ($14/mt) over the period under review. Demand for welded pipes in Italy is forecast to improve in the first quarter next year. Thus, price increases are expected to be attempted by Italian pipe producers in the coming period, supported also by anticipated higher feedstock costs.
Current local prices for Italian welded pipes of 2"-6" size with wall thickness of 2.0-4.0 mm as per EN 10219 made from base steel grade S235JR hot rolled coil (HRC) are at about €560-600/mt ($767-822/mt) ex-works. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 21 percent VAT. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes, E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 (not normalized), are at about €670-700/mt ($918-959/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €590-630/mt ($808-863/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €560-600/mt ($767-822/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €590-630/mt ($808-863/mt) CPT.
Offers from Turkish suppliers of industrial welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HR coils are being given at an average of €500-530/mt ($685-726/mt) CFR to Italy and at €520-540/mt ($712-740/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Italian market are standing at an average of €570-610/mt ($781-836/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.37