Buying activity in the welded pipe market of the United Arab Emirates has weakened in view of the approach of Ramadan and the summer season. UAE traders prefer to buy only in line with urgent requirements given the sluggish demand from construction companies. As a result, local producers of welded pipes have decreased their offers by $20-30/mt over the past month. Chinese suppliers have cut their offers by $10-30/mt, while offers of Indian ERW pipes have gone down by $40-50/mt over the past month. South Korean suppliers have also decreased their quotations by $20/mt over the same period. Market participants believe welded pipe prices in the UAE will not manage to indicate any upward movement in the short term.
UAE domestic prices for locally produced ½"-4" welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness of grade B made to ASTM A53 or BS 1387 are at about $810-840/mt ex-works. Prices are given on theoretical weight basis.
Domestic quotations of ½"-4" welded pipes with 1.5-1.8 mm wall thickness of grade B made to ASTM or BS 1387 are at about $830-890/mt ex-works. Current domestic prices of 1"-4" galvanized ERW pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness are in the range of $940-1,020/mt ex-works.
Offers of Chinese ERW pipes up to 10" grade B as per ASTM are being given to the UAE market at about $800-840/mt CFR.
Indian suppliers are offering ERW pipes, 1"-6" as per BS 1387 (light series), to the UAE at $780-810/mt CFR, $40-50/mt lower than one month ago.
South Korean 10"-20" ERW pipes grade B made to ASTM A53/API 5L are being offered to the UAE at on average $880-930/mt CFR.