Today, National Seamless Steel Pipe Prices Likely to Remain Stable with a Slight Upward Bias

【Price Review】

On April 9, seamless steel pipe prices in major cities across the country remained generally stable. The national average price for seamless pipes (1084.5mm) was quoted at 4,275 RMB/ton, unchanged from the previous trading day. In Linyi market, the price of 1084.5mm seamless pipes held steady, while in Liaocheng market, it remained temporarily unchanged. The seamless pipe price index stood at 4,173.26, down 1.42 from the previous trading day.

【Raw Materials】

– Tube Blank: On April 9, ex-factory prices of tube blanks were stable. Hot-rolled tube blank 20#: Tiangang 3,250, Donghai 3,230; Continuous cast round blank 20#: Gangtou Special Steel 3,290. (RMB/ton)

– Billet: On April 10, the Tangshan billet index was 2,989.0. The settled price of Tangshan Qian’an plain square billet was 2,960 RMB/ton, with a weekly average of 2,977.14 and a monthly average of 2,974.67. The spot price for traders was around 3,030 RMB/ton.

【Transaction Status】

On April 9, the total transaction volume of seamless steel pipes from a sample of 124 traders nationwide was 15,997 tons, up 0.3% from the previous day and up 3.1% year-on-year. By region, except for East China, Northeast China, Northwest China, and South China where transaction volumes decreased, all other regions saw increases, with Southwest China posting a notable increase of over 10%.

【Market Conditions】

The night session saw the black commodity futures market trading weakly downward. Raw material prices remained stable, and mainstream pipe mills kept their ex-factory prices unchanged. This week, pipe mill production continued to increase slightly, while inventory destocking slowed, indicating relatively ample supply. Market transactions were moderate. National demand is gradually releasing, with downstream projects starting one after another. Demand is expected to pick up, leading to a relatively balanced supply-demand relationship. Seamless pipe prices nationwide are expected to remain stable tomorrow.

【Pipe Mill Conditions】

According to a weekly production survey of seamless pipe mills nationwide (30 manufacturers, 101 production lines), this week’s output was 432,100 tons, up 5,500 tons week-on-week and up 59,600 tons month-on-month. Capacity utilization was 86.66%, up 1.1% week-on-week and up 11.95% month-on-month. The operating rate was 83.17%, up 0.99% week-on-week and up 9.9% month-on-month. In-mill inventory stood at 756,600 tons, down 11,900 tons week-on-week and down 7,600 tons month-on-month. Raw material inventory was 349,300 tons, up 4,900 tons week-on-week and up 36,700 tons month-on-month.

【Industry & Economic News】

– This week, the total output of the five major steel varieties was 8.5848 million tons, up 69,700 tons week-on-week, an increase of 0.8%. Total inventory was 18.1292 million tons, down 375,300 tons week-on-week, a decrease of 2.0%. Apparent consumption was 8.9601 million tons, down 0.3% from the previous period, with construction steel consumption up 0.5% and flat steel consumption down 0.5%.

– Geopolitical tensions continue in the Middle East. Two of Iran’s largest steel mills, Mobarakeh Steel Company and Khuzestan Steel Company, have successively announced full production stoppages. Together, they affect an annual capacity of 13–15 million tons, accounting for approximately 24–27% of Iran’s total capacity. According to Iranian steel industry officials, resuming production will take “at least six months, and possibly up to a year.”