Mexican domestic welded steel pipe prices closed at US$905/mt ex-mill the first week of April, after two consecutive weeks of declines between US$3-$10/mt.
Structural steel tubing prices, meanwhile, were at the level of US$839/mt in the first week of the month, reflecting an increase of US$4-6/mt during the last two weeks.
Due to unfinished public works projects, the Mexican construction industry expects annual growth of 3.6 percent this year, while still aspiring to an average growth rate of 4 percent in the next five years. Sources say that if the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto structures and implements an appropriate infrastructure program as a key part of its development plan, and if he carries out the necessary structural reforms, then the growth rates of activity in the construction industry will increase substantially during the administration reaching ranges between 5 and 6 percent on average per year.