The Chinese welded pipe market has witnessed a downward trend over the past two weeks driven by soft demand and lower raw material prices. Domestic prices of welded pipes in China have decreased by RMB 30-100/mt ($5-16/mt) over the period under review. At the same time, export offers of welded pipes from China have remained almost unchanged amid quiet demand in the international market. Market insiders believe the welded pipe sector in China will likely continue to see slow activity in the short term. Welded pipe demand in China is unlikely to see a substantial recovery amid the downturn in the real estate market and the weakening of seasonal demand.
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 4,000-4,150/mt ($648-672/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 3,500-3,580/mt ($567-580/mt) ex-warehouse, while stockists in the cities of Tianjin and Beijing are offering similar pipes at RMB 3,290-3,390/mt ($533-549/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 6.17