Off-Season Drags Down Transactions; Nationwide Seamless Pipe Prices Expected to Consolidate Today

[Price Review]

On August 14, seamless pipe prices in major cities across the country edged down. The national average price for seamless pipe 108*4.5mm stood at 4,253 yuan/ton, down 3 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In the Liaocheng market, the price of 108*4.5mm seamless pipe remained stable, and the Linyi market also saw no change for the same specification. The seamless pipe price index was 4,128.11, down 2.26 from the previous trading day.

[Raw Materials]

Pipe billet: On August 14, ex-works prices for pipe billets remained steady. Hot-rolled pipe billet 20#: Tiangang 3,190, Donghai 3,160; continuous-cast round billet 20#: Gangtou Special Steel 3,210. (yuan/ton)

Billet: On August 17, the settlement price of Tangshan Qian’an plain square billet was 2,940, with a weekly average of 2,937.14 and a monthly average of 2,944.67; trader spot prices were around 3,020. (yuan/ton)

[Transaction Performance]

On August 14, the total transaction volume of 124 seamless pipe trader sample enterprises nationwide was 13,782 tons, down 2.7% month-on-month and 10.4% year-on-year. By region, transaction volumes increased in Central China, South China, and Northwest China, while declines of varying degrees were seen in other regions.

[Pipe Mill Survey]

Weekly production survey of national seamless pipe mills (30 manufacturers, 101 production lines): This week’s output was 384,900 tons, down 9,400 tons week-on-week and 11,500 tons month-on-month; capacity utilization rate was 77.2%, down 1.88 percentage points week-on-week and 2.31 percentage points month-on-month; operating rate was 73.27%, down 1.98 percentage points week-on-week and 4.95 percentage points month-on-month; in-plant inventory was 929,500 tons, up 6,300 tons week-on-week and 67,100 tons month-on-month; raw material inventory was 332,100 tons, down 1,600 tons week-on-week and up 22,400 tons month-on-month.

[Market Conditions]

Last week, the seamless pipe market continued its pattern of strong supply and weak demand, while pipe billet prices on the cost side softened, leading to a slight decline in national seamless pipe prices. On the supply side, mill output fell modestly, but in-plant inventory kept accumulating, indicating sustained supply pressure. On the demand side, persistent high temperatures and rainfall, combined with the off-season effect, weakened downstream procurement demand, making it difficult for overall transactions to improve. However, since August, production curbs on coking coal under Shanxi’s coal mine output restrictions have reduced raw material supply, supporting pipe billet prices from the cost side, and pipe billets are expected to stabilize going forward. In summary, nationwide seamless pipe prices are expected to consolidate today.