Slow sales and fragile sentiment in Chinese welded pipe market

China's domestic welded pipe market has softened over the past two weeks amid slow sales and fragile sentiment. Domestic prices of welded pipes in China have decreased by RMB 10-50/mt over the period under review. However, welded pipe export quotations have remained stable, while overseas demand shows no signs of picking up. Most local and foreign customers prefer to maintain a wait-and-see stance towards the market. Market participants do not think welded pipe prices in China will rebound in the short term amid high stocks and generally weak sentiment.
 
Current offers of locally produced 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 4,100-4,250/mt ($655-679/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT. Traders in Shanghai are offering Q215-Q235 welded pipes made to GB/T3091 at around RMB 3,550-3,620/mt ($567-578/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin are offering similar pipes at RMB 3,430-3,480/mt ($556-564/mt) ex-warehouse.
 
Current export prices of welded pipes from large Chinese mills, 2"-10" grade B according to ASTM A53, are at around $600-630/mt FOB on actual weight basis.
 
$1 = RMB 6.26