SunSirs: The Seamless Steel Tube Market Saw a Slight Increase Last Week (March 2-6)

Price trend

According to data from SunSirs, seamless steel tube prices rose slightly last week. By the end of the week, the price of 20#, 108*4.5 seamless steel tube was 4,052 RMB/ton, up 0.3% from the beginning of the week and down 3.7% year-on-year.

Market analysis

Last week, the billet market price remained largely stable with minor adjustments, with the ex-factory price of 20# hot-rolled billet at 3,230-3,330 RMB/ton. The weak supply and demand situation in the billet market was unlikely to change. Upstream costs had not seen any positive releases, downstream tube mills' operating rates remained low, and procurement demand remained sluggish. Coupled with ongoing environmental controls in Liaocheng, which hindered the flow of raw materials in the region, the national billet market lacked the impetus for price adjustments.

Liaocheng was affected by the heavy air pollution emergency response control measures initiated at 3 PM on March 3rd. Local tube factories experienced widespread shutdowns and production restrictions, with only a few compliant enterprises maintaining low-load production. Coupled with the shutdown of construction sites and restrictions on logistics and transportation, local transactions remained sluggish. Although merchants were inclined to hold prices, end-users mainly purchased on demand and replenished their inventories based on immediate needs, without the support of concentrated orders, resulting in a strong wait-and-see attitude in the market.

Market Outlook:

Overall, environmental controls remained stringent during the Two Sessions, and the emergency response in Liaocheng had not yet been lifted, leading to a continued contraction in regional supply. However, the resumption of work in downstream infrastructure and manufacturing sectors was slow, resulting in insufficient demand to support price increases. It is expected that domestic seamless steel tube market prices will remain stable in the short term.

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