Market Sentiment Cautious, National Seamless Pipe Prices Today May Run Weak and Stable

[Price Review]

On November 12, seamless pipe prices in mainstream cities nationwide trended weaker. The national average price of 108*4.5mm seamless pipe was reported at 4,221 yuan/ton, down 4 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. Market prices in Linyi and Liaocheng remained temporarily stable. The seamless pipe price index was 4,079.47, down 6.98 from the previous trading day.

[Raw Materials]

Tube blank: On November 12, ex-works prices of tube blank were stable. Hot-rolled tube blank 20#: Tiangang 3,070, Donghai 3,060; continuously cast round billet 20#: Gangtou Special Steel 3,090. (yuan/ton)

Steel billet: On November 13, the Tangshan steel billet index was 2,889.0, the settlement price of ordinary billet in Qian’an, Tangshan was 2,860, the weekly average price was 2,872.86, the monthly average price was 2,903, and the traders’ spot price was around 2,930. (yuan/ton)

[Transaction Situation]

On November 12, the total transaction volume of sample enterprises of 124 seamless pipe traders nationwide was 14,437 tons, down 4.1% day on day and up 3.8% year on year. By region, except for a slight increase in transactions in South China, transaction volumes in all other regions decreased to varying degrees, among which Northwest China saw the largest decline, at 28.7%.

[Market Situation]

Yesterday, black-series futures all closed lower, with coking coal leading the decline. On the raw material side, the ex-works price of ordinary billet in Tangshan fell by 10 to 2,860 yuan/ton, and warehouse spot quotations in the afternoon were 2,930 yuan/ton including tax for delivery from the warehouse; port iron ore prices moved weakly downward, expectations for a third round of coke price cuts remained, and cost support was relatively weak. Market sentiment was rather cautious, traders were more inclined to wait and see, and transactions were generally moderate to weak. In summary, with futures closing lower, raw material prices moving downward, and cost support weakening, it is expected that national seamless pipe prices may continue to run stable with a slight decline. Attention should be paid to the implementation of coke price cuts and movements in Tangshan billet prices.

[Industry and Economic News]

On November 12, iron ore transactions at major ports nationwide totaled 732,000 tons, up 22.00% month on month; transactions of construction steel rebar by 237 mainstream traders were 79,800 tons, down 12.55% month on month.

This week, billet inventory in major warehouses and ports in Tangshan on a comparable basis was 1.7513 million tons, an increase of 48,800 tons from last week. During the survey period, the volume of billet sold externally remained high, while procurement by downstream billet-processing enterprises contracted. Under this double squeeze, inventory continued to rise.