Demand has remained weak in the Italian market for welded pipes amid the ongoing bad economic outlook across Europe. Over the past month, Italian suppliers of welded pipes have left both their domestic and export offers unchanged. Meanwhile, negative conditions in the market amid very low demand from consuming industries have forced local suppliers to give discounts. At the same time, Turkish suppliers have raised their offers by €20/mt ($26/mt); while import offers of Bulgarian welded pipes have decreased by a minimum of €50/mt ($66/mt). Market players believe it will be difficult to increase prices in the current market conditions. Nevertheless, Italian suppliers do not plan to reduce their prices amid steady quotations for flat steel.
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 €650-680/mt ($852-891/mt) ex-works. Prices are shown on actual weight basis and excluding 21 percent VAT. Domestic prices for standard-size precision welded tubes of E235 grade as per EN 10305-3 are at about €750-760/mt ($983-996/mt) ex-works.
Export quotations of Italian 2"-6" welded pipes as per EN 10219 are at about €680-700/mt ($891-917/mt) FOB (transportation by sea) or €650-680/mt ($852-891/mt) ex-works (transportation overland). In particular, offer prices for Spain are in the range of €680-710/mt ($891-930/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 €620-650/mt ($812-852/mt) CFR to Italy and at €640-670/mt ($838-878/mt) CFR to Spain.
Offers of Bulgarian welded pipes to the Spanish market are standing at an average of €620-650/mt ($812-852/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $ 1.31