Trading activity continues to disappoint in local Chinese steel pipe market

In the past week, the local Chinese steel pipe market has seen slight decreases for seamless pipe prices and a minor rebound for welded pipe prices. 
 
As of October 16, in China's three main steel markets, i.e., Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing, the average price of 20# (GB/T8162-1999) grade 108 mm x 4.5 mm seamless pipe now stands at $583/mt, with 20# (GB/T8163-1999) grade 219 mm x 6 mm seamless pipe at $616/mt. Meanwhile, on the same date, Q195-215 grade 48 mm x 3.25 mm welded pipe and Q215-235 grade 114 mm x 3.75 mm welded pipe prices in the above markets are standing at $507/mt and $516/mt respectively. All the above prices include 17 percent VAT.
 
The Chinese domestic seamless pipe market has trended down slightly during the past week amid the ongoing slackness of trading activity, Traders mostly have low inventory levels in order not to tie up funds. The current activity in the market has fallen short of traders' expectations. It is thought that the market will continue to be characterized by a soft trend in the coming week.
 
The local Chinese welded pipe market has seen upticks in prices during the past seven days, mainly on the back of significant increases in steel strip prices. Although overall trading activity for welded pipes is still low and has even slowed further due to the uptrend of prices, traders nevertheless have decided to raise their prices slightly due to the support from steel strip prices. However, most traders will seek to increase their sales volumes before the cold winter weather arrives and so they are expected either to keep their prices stable or adjust them slightly downward in the coming week.