Despite rather weak demand conditions in Germany and abroad, domestic and export quotations of locally produced seamless pipes have remained largely unchanged over the past month, while some foreign suppliers have lifted their offers for the German market on the back of the substantially weaker euro. In particular, import prices of Ukrainian material have increased by €10-15/mt (down $19-23/mt) over the past month, while offers of Chinese pipes have moved up by €20/mt (down $1-2/mt). Prices for Romanian seamless pipes have declined by €20-30/mt (down $64-75/mt). Over the period under review, offers of Italian pipes have remained unchanged in euro terms, but have declined by $43-44/mt in dollar terms. Market players expect to see a moderate recovery in the German seamless pipe market this year as the outlook for the key user sectors remains slightly positive.
Nevertheless, fierce competition with import material and the current weak investment environment in the country will limit the growth of seamless pipe demand.
German 2"-6" seamless pipes of grade S355 made to EN 10210 are being offered to local buyers at around €900-920/mt ($1,023-1,046/mt) delivered.
Export quotations of German 2"-4" seamless pipes of grade B as per ASTM A106 are in the range of €880-920/mt ($1,000-1,046/mt) FCA on theoretical weight basis.
Prices for Chinese seamless pipes, 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106/API 5L, are at about €570-610/mt ($648-694/mt) CFR Germany, exclusive of antidumping duties.
Offers of Ukrainian 2"-6" seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 of steel grade B are in the range of €810-840/mt ($921-955/mt) CPT, exclusive of antidumping duties.
Romanian 4"-6" seamless pipes made to ASTM A106 of steel grade B are being offered to the German market at about €920-960/mt ($1,046-1,092/mt) CPT.
Prices for Italian seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM A106 are at about €1,020-1,050/mt ($1,160-1,196/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.13