Italian welded pipe prices have moved strongly upwards over the past month amid higher costs of raw materials. Italian welded pipe makers have lifted domestic and export prices by €120/mt ($164/mt) over the past month. Romanian suppliers have increased their welded pipe offers for Italian customers by €30-40/mt ($41-55/mt) over the past month. Over the same period, import offers of Indian black welded pipes for Italy have increased by a maximum of €20/mt ($27/mt), while offers of Turkish welded pipes have risen by €10-40/mt ($14-55/mt) over the period under review. Prices of Bulgarian welded pipes have remained unchanged. However, demand in the Italian welded pipe market remains slow. Customers are concerned about the high price levels as the general economic situation in Italy is still far from indicating a complete recovery, while investments are lacking and finance from the banks is still on the short side and erratic. Market players hope for a price stabilization in the coming short-term period at least, as prices for flat steel have recently stopped rising and are now at around €620/mt ($846/mt) for Italian origin hot rolled coil (HRC) and at €560-570/mt ($764-774/mt) CFR for import HRC material from Ukraine.
Current local prices for Italian welded pipes of 2"-6" size with wall thickness of 2.0-4.0 mm as per EN 10219 made from base steel grade S235JR HR coils are at about €720-760/mt ($982-1,037/mt) ex-works (here and below on actual weight basis and excluding 20 percent VAT). Local quotations of 3"-8" welded pipes of L235 steel grade as per EN 10208, used for combustible fluids, are at €740-750/mt ($1,009-1,023/mt) ex-works. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 are at about €860-880/mt ($1,173-1,200/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €750-790/mt ($1,023-1,077/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €720-760/mt ($982-1,037/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €750-800/mt ($1,023-1,091/mt) CPT.
Import offers of Romanian 3"-8" welded pipes of L235 steel grade as per EN 10208 are being given to the Italian market at around €700-710/mt ($955-968/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
Offers from Turkish suppliers of industrial welded pipes with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from HR coils are being given at an average of €630-740/mt ($859-1,009/mt) C&F to Italy and €640-750/mt ($873-1,023/mt) C&F to Spain. The prices of Turkish welded pipes with 1.5 mm wall thickness made from cold rolled (CR) coils are at about €700-775/mt ($900-1,057/mt) C&F to the Italian market and at €710-785/mt ($968-1,071/mt) C&F to the Spanish market.
Quotations of Indian black welded pipes of 1"-6" size as per BS 1387 or DIN 2440/2444 or EN 10255 to the Italian market are at the level of €700-770/mt ($955-1,050/mt) C&F, while galvanized welded pipes are at €750-810/mt ($1,023-1,105/mt) C&F on theoretical weight basis.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Spanish market are standing at an average of €695-710/mt ($948-968/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.364