Buying activity has up to now remained weak in the German seamless pipe market as market players have returned slowly after the holiday period. Domestic prices for seamless pipes in Germany have remained unchanged over the past month as there was no activity in the market due to the Christmas-New Year lull. Import prices of Chinese material have increased by around €20/mt ($18-19/mt) over the past month, while offers of Romanian and Italian pipes have remained unchanged over the same period. However, market participants think seamless pipe suppliers in Germany will seek to raise prices in the coming period amid the anticipated rise in raw material prices in the EU and the traditional upturn in demand from consuming industries at this time of the year.
German 2"-6" seamless pipes of grade S355 made to EN 10210 are being given to local buyers at around €880-920/mt ($1,199-1,254/mt) delivered, while pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are at about €920-950/mt ($1,254-1,295/mt) delivered.
Export quotations of German 2"-4" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are in the range of €930-960/mt ($1,267-1,308/mt) FCA on theoretical weight basis.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L, are at about €620-670/mt ($845-913/mt) CFR Germany, exclusive of antidumping duties.
Romanian 4"-6" seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 of steel grade B are being offered to the German market at about €980-1,000/mt ($1,335-1,363/mt) CPT.
Prices for Italian seamless pipes of 2"-10" grade B made to ASTM A106 are at about €1,100-1,150/mt ($1,500-1,567/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.36