Mills' prices to climb up in March-May

摘要

Domestic prices for 57-108 mm GOST 10704(05) welded pipes with February delivery increased by 3-6%.Seeing weak activity in the welded pipe segment and expecting prices to reverse their trend, most mills reduced feedstock purchases. As a result, mills' inventories of relatively cheap feedstock and finished products decreased substantially over the month. Considering this, production costs will have a decisive impact on welded pipes makers' domestic pricing throughout the forecast period. In March-April, domestic HRC prices to pipe makers will be rising by 2-3% per month, with a stabiliza?tion to follow in May, Metal Expert forecasts.