The CIS round billet market currently seems to be stable, with a slightly positive outlook. Offer prices of August production round billets from Ukrainian and Russian manufacturers have started to rise, up $10-20/mt compared to the level for July production. In particular, prices for August production round billet from OEMK (Russia) to Ukrainian pipe makers are at about $370-400/mt DAF, against $380/mt DAF a month ago. Offers of August production round billet from Ukraine's Dneprovsky (Dzerzhinsky) to Ukrainian mills are being given at $360-380/mt ex-works against $350-370/mt ex-works in last month. In July there were almost no export sales of round billets from Dzerzhinsky steel mill, but in August this mill is expected to step up its exports due to an increase in orders. During July DMKD planned to produce 3,000 mt of round billets for the domestic market.
As a result of the upward trend in round billets, CIS seamless pipe producers have increased the export quotations of their products. Thus, offers of Ukrainian seamless pipes of August-September production for export have risen by $20-75/mt compared with the prices for July production. Meanwhile, Russian manufacturers have increased export quotations by $15-30/mt. Despite this increase producers have informed SteelOrbis that they booked with orders until October. However, due to vagueness in the price trend for round billets, pipe producers are not able to give prices for October production. Nevertheless, the expectation is that round billets will rise in price and consequently seamless pipe quotations will also increase, but not at a very fast rate as the market has not yet recovered sufficiently.
Export prices for Interpipe's August-September production of 1 1/4"-5" seamless pipes grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are about $780-845/mt FOB, 6"-8" pipes are priced at $830-895/mt FOB, and 10"-12" pipes are at $880-945/mt FOB.
Export offers of August production seamless pipes with diameter of 57-168 mm made from steel grade 10, 20 according to GOST 8731/8732 from Dnipropetrovsk Tube Works are at $750-760/mt FOB.
Export prices of August production seamless pipes of 10, 20 steel grade made to GOST 8731/8732 by Russia's TMK Group are at $765-930/mt FOB Novorossiysk, depending on diameter and producer. In particular, seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter of 73-168 mm and of 10, 20 steel grade made to GOST from Sinarsky PP, and with 219-325 mm diameter also from Seversky PP, are offered for export at on average $900-930/mt FOB. Export prices for seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter up to 425 mm from Volzhsky PP and Taganrog PP are at about $765/mt FOB. However, it is possible to reduce prices to $720-750/mt FOB for some of the bigger customers.
Uraltrubostal's export offers for August-September production seamless hot-formed pipes with diameter of 33.7-219.1 mm made to ASTM or GOST are standing at about $720-750/mt FOB.
The prices for August production of hot-formed seamless pipes ex-Belarus (BMZ), of 21.3-168.3 mm diameter with 2.3-3.4 mm wall thickness, are at about $850/mt FOB.