Welded pipe demand in the United Arab Emirates has strengthened gradually over the past month. However, local producers of welded pipes have not changed their domestic prices yet, keeping them at the level of one month ago, as buyers still show little inclination to accept higher quotations. Chinese suppliers have not revised their offers, while offers of Indian ERW pipes have gone up by $50/mt over the past month. Market participants believe welded pipe quotations in the UAE will start to go up soon on the back of higher prices of feedstock material and anticipated demand growth in line with new investment projects in the region.
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 $800-840/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 $830-890/mt ex-works. Current domestic prices of 1"-4" galvanized ERW pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness are in the range of $950-1,000/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 $800-850/mt CFR.
Indian suppliers are offering ERW pipes, 1"-6" as per BS 1387 (light series), to the UAE at $900-930/mt CFR, $50/mt higher than one month ago.
South Korean 10"-20" ERW pipes grade B made to ASTM A53/API 5L are being offered to the UAE on average at $925-970/mt CFR. Offers of 28"-40" SAW pipes from South Korea are at $1,300-1,375/mt CFR.