Demand for seamless pipes in the UAE has not improved yet after the recent religious holiday, and traders are in no hurry to resume purchases. Meanwhile, most foreign suppliers have raised their seamless pipe offers for Emirati customers, expecting better market conditions in the coming period, though Chinese and South African suppliers have left their seamless pipe offers unchanged over the past month. Ukrainian suppliers have raised their quotations by a maximum of $20/mt over the same period, while prices for Romanian seamless pipes have increased by $30-50/mt. Import offers of seamless pipes from Argentina, Japan and Germany have gone up by $20-50/mt over the past month.
Market participants think seamless pipe suppliers will keep their prices firm in the coming month. However, the situation in the UAE market is unlikely to improve much given slack end-user demand and sufficient inventories.
Offers of Chinese seamless pipes of 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM/API are being given to the local UAE market at $800-850/mt CFR.
Quotations of Ukrainian (Interpipe) seamless pipes, 2"-10" Sch 40 grade B made to ASTM/API, are at $1,080-1,140/mt CFR.
Seamless pipes from Romania (ArcelorMittal) of 3"-10" grade B made to ASTM are quoted at about $1,430-1,450/mt CFR.
South African (ArcelorMittal) seamless pipes, 3"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API, are being quoted to the UAE in the range of $1,080-1,130/mt CFR.
Offers of seamless pipes from Argentina, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API from Tenaris, are being given to the UAE at $1,520-1,580/mt CFR.
Quotations from France and Germany (V&M) and from Japan (NSSMC) for seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM/API are at about $1,450-1,500/mt CFR.