The welded pipe market in the UAE is seeing a slight upturn in buying activity amid better conditions in the construction segment. Local producers of welded pipes have increased their domestic prices by $30/mt over the past two months on the back of higher substrate costs and firmer demand.
Market insiders believe that suppliers may push prices up further as demand is strengthening and as quotations of flat steel are on the rise.
UAE domestic prices for locally produced ½"-4" welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness of grade B made to ASTM A53 or BS 1387 are at about $760-790/mt ex-works. Prices are given on theoretical weight basis.
Domestic quotations of ½"-4" welded pipes with 1.5-1.8 mm wall thickness of grade B made to ASTM or BS 1387 are at about $780-820/mt ex-works. Current domestic prices of 1"-4" galvanized ERW pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness are in the range of $950-970/mt ex-works.
Offers of Chinese ERW pipes up to 10" grade B as per ASTM are being given to the UAE market at about $790-810/mt CFR, against $750-780/mt CFR in January.
Indian suppliers are offering ERW pipes, 1"-6" as per BS 1387 (light series), to the UAE at $770-800/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis, $50/mt higher than two months ago.