September 2011 | Welded steel tube & pipe
Chinese structural market turns: Asia Market Analysis
Chinese production volumes could stall in the fourth quarter.
After some strength in the first half of the month – largely driven by rising coil prices – Chinese welded pipe prices have turned down in the second half of the month. Many Chinese steel mills hiked HR coil prices in early September and pipe mills followed suit. However, falling sales resulted in price weakness and falling coil prices in the spot market. In terms of tubular prices, spot 4” ERW in the Tianjin market was above RMB5,000/tonne ($670/tonne ex-VAT) at the peak before dropping to around RMB4,800/tonne ($640/tonne ex-VAT) by the end of the month. While the turn in HR coil prices was one factor, many in the market highlighted weak demand since the beginning of the month as another reason that the price struggled and we suggest that...
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