During the week ending September 11, average Chinese steel pipe export offer prices have remained stable. At present, export offers for welded pipe given by Chinese suppliers are in the range of $460-480/mt FOB, moving sideways compared to September 4, while export offers for API 5L seamless pipe given by Chinese suppliers are at $480-490/mt FOB, for October shipment, remaining unchanged compared to September 4.
Product name |
Quality |
Spec. |
Price ($/mt) FOB |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
API 5L seamless pipe |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
485 |
- |
Seamless pipe, casing (hot rolled forming) |
J55 |
3’’-8’’ Std |
485 |
- |
Seamless pipe, tubing (cold drawn forming) |
ST37 |
< 3’’ Std |
615 |
- |
Welded pipes |
Gr.B |
2’’-6’’ Std |
470 |
- |
During the given week, steel pipe prices have remained stable, while downstream users have mostly held a wait-and-see stance towards concluding purchases due to shortage of funds. Some steel pipe producers have halted production and have been consuming current inventories amid the prevailing bearish sentiments. Though the traditional peak season of September has arrived, demand has not shown significant improvements. It is thought that steel pipe prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week.
As of September 11, HRC futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,188/mt ($466/mt), increasing by RMB 17/mt ($2.4/mt) or 0.54 percent since September 4, while up 1.0 percent compared to the previous trading day, September 10.
$1 = RMB 7.1148