Cost Support Weakens; Seamless Steel Pipe Prices Trend Downwards Today

[Price Review]

Seamless Steel Pipes: On November 11, the price of 108*4.5mm seamless steel pipes in the Linyi market fell by RMB 30, while the price in the Liaocheng market dropped by RMB 10. The Mysteel seamless steel pipe price index stood at 4,437.35, a decrease of 25.33 from the previous week.

[Raw Materials]

Pipe Billets: On November 11, Shandong pipe billet prices fell by RMB 50-80. Hot-rolled pipe billets 20#: Tianjin Steel at RMB 3,360, Donghai Steel at RMB 3,320; Continuous casting round billets 20#: Gangtou Special Steel at RMB 3,370. (Yuan/ton)

Steel Billets: On November 11, the Tangshan steel billet index was 3124.0, with the settlement price of Tangshan Qian’an plain carbon steel billets at RMB 3,100. The weekly average price was RMB 3,125.71, and the monthly average was RMB 3,133.33. Traders’ prices, including taxes, were around RMB 3,160. (Yuan/ton)

[Market Conditions]

Seamless steel pipe prices nationwide experienced minor declines, with the national average price falling by RMB 12/ton compared to the previous trading day. In terms of raw materials, pipe billet prices nationwide showed volatility and weakness, with Shandong pipe billet prices dropping by RMB 50-80/ton and Jiangsu pipe billet prices decreasing by RMB 60/ton. Mainstream seamless steel pipe manufacturers largely maintained their prices, with some factories reducing prices by RMB 50/ton. Order intake at pipe factories was average. In the market, black metal futures showed volatility and weakness, and market confidence needed to be boosted. The price support for seamless steel pipe raw materials weakened, and the prices of finished products were also affected. There was widespread silent price reductions and shipments in the market. With temperatures dropping, the number of downstream projects starting in the north was limited, and terminal demand declined relatively quickly. Trading activity was weak, and overall market shipments were slow. Most customers maintained a wait-and-see attitude, focusing on reducing inventory. In summary, seamless steel pipe prices nationwide are expected to trend steadily weaker.

[Industry and Economic News]

◎People’s Bank of China: At the end of October, China’s M2 balance increased by 7.5% year-on-year, with the growth rate 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous month; M1 fell by 6.1% year-on-year, narrowing by 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, marking the first rebound in growth rate this year. In the first ten months, RMB loans increased by RMB 16.52 trillion, and the cumulative increment in social financing was RMB 27.06 trillion.

◎The Ministry of Finance recently issued a notice announcing an advance allocation of RMB 56.6 billion in central government subsidies for urban affordable housing projects in 2025. This includes RMB 11.9 billion for housing security funds, RMB 10 billion for urban village renovation funds, RMB 33.2 billion for old community renovation, and RMB 1.5 billion for shack (dangerous and old urban houses) renovation.

◎On November 11, iron ore transactions at major ports nationwide totaled 1.1322 million tons, a decrease of 5.8% from the previous week; 237 mainstream traders transacted 112,600 tons of construction steel, an increase of 21.2% from the previous week.

◎The top 17 key real estate enterprises achieved sales totaling RMB 1,607.601 billion from January to October 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 33%; in October, sales totaled RMB 222.19 billion, up 2.2% year-on-year and 63.43% month-on-month.