Welded pipe prices in Italy have started to rise amid rising import offers of flat steel, though the market is still suffering from ongoing sluggish consumption. The upward trend in offers of flat steel products has been mainly caused by the weakening of the euro against the US dollar. At the same time, Italian steelmakers are still trying to keep their prices stable. In particular, currently in the local Italian market, commercial quality hot rolled coil prices are at €560-570/mt ex-works from Riva Group.
Italian producers have increased their domestic and export prices of welded pipes made to EN 10219 by €20-40/mt over the past month. Turkish suppliers have increased their welded pipe offers for Italian customers by €20-40/mt over the past month. Over the same period, import offers of Indian black welded pipes for Italy have increased by €5-20/mt, while offers of Bulgarian welded pipes have declined by €20/mt over the period under review. Market insiders believe that low stocks, an expected price growth in the flat steel segment and rising import quotations of welded pipes will force Italian pipe producers to lift their prices further.
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 €700-790/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 €770-800/mt ex-works. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 are at about €880-900/mt ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €730-820/mt FOB (transportation by sea) or €700-800/mt ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €730-840/mt CPT.
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 €605-630/mt CFR to Italy and €620-640/mt CFR to Spain. The prices of Turkish welded pipes with 1.5 mm wall thickness made from cold rolled (CR) coils are at about €680-700/mt CFR to the Italian market and at €690-710/mt CFR 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 €690-720/mt C&F, while galvanized welded pipes are at €770-790/mt C&F on theoretical weight basis.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Spanish market are standing at an average of €690-700/mt CPT on theoretical weight basis.