Traders cautious amid uncertain prospects for Iranian seamless pipe market

Activity in the seamless pipe market in Iran has remained sluggish. However, expectations of increased business activity after Ramadan as well as low inventories have caused seamless pipe prices in Iran to move upward over the past month. Domestic offer prices of locally produced seamless pipes in Iran have increased by $20-30/mt over the past month, while import offers of Ukrainian and Russian material have risen by $30-50/mt. At the same time, quotations of seamless pipes from China have declined by $20/mt. The number of transactions in the market is very low, while traders remain cautious and sentiment as regards the future market is full of uncertainty amid lack of liquidity and low investments in the development of the country's infrastructure.
 
Current domestic prices for Iranian seamless pipes, 2"-4" grade B made to API 5L, are in the range of $1,000-1,050/mt ex-works, while 2"-4" seamless pipes grade Х52 made to API 5L are offered to the domestic market at on average $1,100-1,150/mt ex-works.
 
Import offers of Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L, are being given to the local Iranian market at $680-720/mt CFR Bandar Abbas.
 
Quotations of Ukrainian seamless pipes of 2"-6" size grade B as per ASTM A106 have been at about $1,010-1,050/mt CFR.
 
Russian pipes of 2"-6" grade B as per ASTM A106 or GOST are being offered to northern Iranian ports at $1,030-1,060/mt CFR.