Chinese seamless pipe prices decrease
2024-03-22 08:31:35 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 22 Mar 24 - After the decline of RMB50/t (USD7/t) last week, domestic seamless pipe traders moved down prices further this week dragged by the poor sales performance. The present prevailing prices of 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163 hover at RMB4,880-4,930/t (USD678-685/t), RMB4,600-4,650/t (USD639-646/t) and RMB4,700-4,750/t (USD653-660/t) D/P respectively in warehouses Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou, down by RMB20/t (USD3/t), RMB50/t (USD7/t) and RMB50/t (USD7/t) compared with late last week. Insiders foresee narrowly stable prices in the forthcoming several days upon the wait-and-see attitudes of traders.
"Discouraged by the slow market, we have to move down prices by RMB20/t (USD3/t) this week. Now, we quote RMB4,930/t (USD685/t) D/P without concession for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163, while refused to sell at prices below RMB4,950/t (USD688/t) late last week," revealed a trader in Tianjin, who sold 30t of the material at RMB4,930/t (USD685/t) on Thursday. According to him, the demand from downstream industries remains soft, and end users keep inactive in purchasing dragged by insufficient orders for final products. "The overall operating rate keeps about 10% lower than the corresponding period of last year," added the trader. Meanwhile, he does not expect for improving demand even in April. The trader tends to maintain prices flat to watch the market in the following several days.
With the regular monthly sales volume of 1,000t, the trader would sell about 700t in March, against 400t in February. He roughly sold 8,400t of seamless pipe in 2023 and might sell 1,600t in the first quarter of 2024, holding more or less 900t in stock at present.
A trader in Shanghai quotes RMB4,650/t (USD646/t) D/P for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163 at the moment, while insisted on RMB4,700/t (USD653/t) late last week. Attributing the price decline to the weak demand, the trader disclosed that end users report insufficient orders for final products, and thus keep inactive in purchasing. Besides, construction projects fail to operate fully dragged by capital shortage. "After tough negotiations, we just sold 30t of seamless pipe on Thursday, while sold 70t a day in early January," complained the trader. In the meantime, he pointed out that the continuous price declines from steel mills also forced traders to cut prices down. The trader believes prices of seamless pipe would go down further in the coming several days given the dim market.
Holding around 2,000t in inventory, the trader predicts to sell about 2,500t in March, against 1,000t in February. Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 4,000t, he roughly sold 36,000t of seamless pipe in 2023 and might sell approximately 6,000t in the first three months of 2024.
A trader in Guangzhou confirms the price decrease, offering RMB4,750/t (USD660/t) D/P with the concession of RMB50/t (USD7/t) for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163. "Steel mills in Shandong cut ex-works prices of seamless pipe by about RMB200/t (USD28/t) in recent two weeks, together with the soft demand from downstream industries, forcing us to cut prices in succession," explained the trader, who sold 50t of the material at RMB4,700/t (USD653/t) on Thursday. In the meantime, he pointed out that local construction projects maintain low operating rates due to the capital pressure, and traders remain eager to reduce stocks to avoid potential risks. "We refused to order new materials after the Chinese New Year holiday, and only hold about 1,000t in stock now, half of that right after the holiday," added the trader. Adopting wait-and-see attitude towards the market prospect, the trader does not plan to decrease prices further and forecasts flat prices of seamless pipe in the upcoming several days.
With the typical monthly sales volume of 2,000t, the trader estimates that the sales volume would achieve about 1,500t in March, against 600t in February. He sold 8,500t or so of seamless pipe in 2023, and the sales volume in the first quarter of 2024 would achieve approximately 2,900t.
"Discouraged by the slow market, we have to move down prices by RMB20/t (USD3/t) this week. Now, we quote RMB4,930/t (USD685/t) D/P without concession for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163, while refused to sell at prices below RMB4,950/t (USD688/t) late last week," revealed a trader in Tianjin, who sold 30t of the material at RMB4,930/t (USD685/t) on Thursday. According to him, the demand from downstream industries remains soft, and end users keep inactive in purchasing dragged by insufficient orders for final products. "The overall operating rate keeps about 10% lower than the corresponding period of last year," added the trader. Meanwhile, he does not expect for improving demand even in April. The trader tends to maintain prices flat to watch the market in the following several days.
With the regular monthly sales volume of 1,000t, the trader would sell about 700t in March, against 400t in February. He roughly sold 8,400t of seamless pipe in 2023 and might sell 1,600t in the first quarter of 2024, holding more or less 900t in stock at present.
A trader in Shanghai quotes RMB4,650/t (USD646/t) D/P for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163 at the moment, while insisted on RMB4,700/t (USD653/t) late last week. Attributing the price decline to the weak demand, the trader disclosed that end users report insufficient orders for final products, and thus keep inactive in purchasing. Besides, construction projects fail to operate fully dragged by capital shortage. "After tough negotiations, we just sold 30t of seamless pipe on Thursday, while sold 70t a day in early January," complained the trader. In the meantime, he pointed out that the continuous price declines from steel mills also forced traders to cut prices down. The trader believes prices of seamless pipe would go down further in the coming several days given the dim market.
Holding around 2,000t in inventory, the trader predicts to sell about 2,500t in March, against 1,000t in February. Based on the regular monthly sales volume of 4,000t, he roughly sold 36,000t of seamless pipe in 2023 and might sell approximately 6,000t in the first three months of 2024.
A trader in Guangzhou confirms the price decrease, offering RMB4,750/t (USD660/t) D/P with the concession of RMB50/t (USD7/t) for seamless pipe 20# Ф219*6mm GB8163. "Steel mills in Shandong cut ex-works prices of seamless pipe by about RMB200/t (USD28/t) in recent two weeks, together with the soft demand from downstream industries, forcing us to cut prices in succession," explained the trader, who sold 50t of the material at RMB4,700/t (USD653/t) on Thursday. In the meantime, he pointed out that local construction projects maintain low operating rates due to the capital pressure, and traders remain eager to reduce stocks to avoid potential risks. "We refused to order new materials after the Chinese New Year holiday, and only hold about 1,000t in stock now, half of that right after the holiday," added the trader. Adopting wait-and-see attitude towards the market prospect, the trader does not plan to decrease prices further and forecasts flat prices of seamless pipe in the upcoming several days.
With the typical monthly sales volume of 2,000t, the trader estimates that the sales volume would achieve about 1,500t in March, against 600t in February. He sold 8,500t or so of seamless pipe in 2023, and the sales volume in the first quarter of 2024 would achieve approximately 2,900t.
