Buying activity in the Italian welded pipe market has been declining in line with seasonal factors. Italian welded pipe prices have declined by a maximum of €10/mt over the past month as order levels have fallen owing to summer holidays and maintenance shutdowns, but in US dollar terms prices have moved down by $2/mt due to currency fluctuations. During the same period, Turkish suppliers have cut their offers for Italy by around €20-25/mt, while import offers of Bulgarian welded pipes have decreased by a maximum of €5/mt. Italian welded pipe producers are unlikely to achieve any price increases in the coming short-term period considering low consumption and strong competition with Turkish suppliers.
Current local prices for Italian welded pipes of 2"-6" size with wall thickness of 2.0-4.0 mm as per EN 10219 made of base steel grade S235JR HR coils are at about €500-520/mt ($554-576/mt) ex-works. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 22 percent VAT.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €530-550/mt ($587-609/mt) FOB or €500-530/mt ($554-587/mt) ex-works. In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €530-565/mt ($587-625/mt) CPT.
Offers from Turkish suppliers of industrial welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HR coils are being given at an average of €440-460/mt ($487-509/mt) CFR to Italy and at €450-480/mt ($498-531/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Italian market are standing at an average of €490-510/mt ($542-565/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.107