The Romanian seamless pipe market was silent in February due to heavy snowfall and low temperatures. However, Romanian seamless pipe producers now hope for better buying activity owing to improved weather conditions and have already started to raise their quotations. Romanian seamless pipe producers have increased their domestic offers by €10-20/mt over the past month, while export quotations of Romanian seamless pipes have risen by €10-30/mt. Import quotations of seamless pipes from the Czech Republic have moved up by €20/mt over the same period. Market players believe stronger demand from customers of neighboring European countries and the Middle East will enable Romanian suppliers to keep their export prices firm. However, the domestic seamless pipe market in Romania is not expected to show significant growth in the coming period amid weak activity in the construction, automotive and shipbuilding sectors.
Romanian domestic quotations of 3"-10" seamless pipes made to ASTM or EN are at about €1,050-1,100/mt delivered, excluding 24 percent VAT.
Export offers of 3"-10" seamless pipes of grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L are being given by ArcelorMittal Roman to the external markets at around €960-980/mt FCA, 12"-16" seamless pipes are quoted at €985-1,085/mt FCA, while 18"-20" pipes are at about €1,250-1,260/mt FCA.
Import offers of 3"-10" seamless pipes from the Czech Republic (ArcelorMittal) of grade B as per ASTM A106 are being given to the Romanian market at €1,000-1,020/mt CPT.