Although demand the seamless pipe market in Saudi Arabia is relatively healthy in comparison to the overall global market on the back of a number of projects, weak sentiments are keeping many buyers away from the market. As demand has not picked up, seamless pipe suppliers have lowered their offers in order to attract customers' interest.
Domestic prices of locally produced seamless pipes have declined by $100-140/mt over the past month. Russian and Ukrainian suppliers have cut their offers by $20-50/mt from a month ago, while prices for Chinese material have declined by $10-50/mt over the period under review. Import offers of South African pipes have decreased by $100/mt, while prices for seamless pipes from Japan have moved down by $30-60/mt.
Meanwhile, Saudi buyers prefer to postpone deals given the downtrend in the market and to book material only for immediate requirements. In such market conditions, seamless pipe prices are unlikely to increase in the short term.
Market traders report that local manufacturer Jubail Energy Services Company (JESCO) is offering 6"-16" seamless pipes of grade B made to API 5L, PSL2 to the domestic market at around $1,100-1,150/mt ex-works.
Most offers of Chinese seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM are being given to the Saudi Arabian market at $750-800/mt CFR, while quotations of seamless pipes from larger Chinese mills are at $850-900/mt CFR.
Quotations of Ukrainian seamless pipes (Interpipe) of 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM are at $1,150-1,200/mt CFR. Russian seamless pipes (Tagmet) of 4"-8" grade B as per ASTM are being offered to the Saudi market at $1,100-1,150/mt CFR.
South African seamless pipes (ArcelorMittal), 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM, are quoted at around $1,180-1,220/mt CFR Saudi Arabia.
Quotations of seamless pipes from Japan (Sumitomo) for 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM are at about $1,430-1,650/mt CFR.