Drawing close to China's Lunar New Year holiday, transactions in the Chinese welded pipe market are scarce and prices have become more stable. The prospects are not great for China's exports in the welded pipe segment due to the deterioration in the European debt crisis and reduced momentum for global economic growth. In line with market expectations, Chinese suppliers of welded pipes have kept their domestic and export prices unchanged over the past two weeks. Market players predict major steel mills will likely increase their hot rolled coil (HRC) prices after the holidays, thereby also pushing welded pipe producers to raise their quotations. However, poor demand from both local and foreign buyers will restrict the mills' ability to push up welded pipe prices. The Chinese welded pipe market appears unlikely to rally either before or after the holiday.
Current offers of locally produced welded pipes, 2"-6" Q215-Q235 grade, are being given to the Chinese domestic market at an average of RMB 4,150-4,200/mt ($655-665/mt) ex-works, while 2"-6" welded pipes of grade B as per ASTM A53 are at RMB 5,000-5,100/mt ($790-805/mt) ex-works. These local market welded pipe prices include 17 percent VAT.
Current export prices of Chinese welded pipes, 2"-8" grade B according to ASTM A53, are varying at around $750-780/mt FOB on actual weight basis, while 10"-18" welded pipes are at $770-850/mt FOB.