Centravis Holding has analyzed development trends of the seamless stainless steel tubes & pipes world market in January-February of this year. The prices of stainless steel seamless tubes & pipes in December and January tended to decrease. The fall in nickel prices as well as business slowdown during the holidays influenced the fall in prices for seamless stainless steel tubes in all regions. In Europe, prices on average fell by 4%, in America by 2%, while in Asia the price remained relatively stable. According to experts, consumption of seamless tubes & pipes in Russia in December increased by 15% -20%. Following results of the last year, estimated consumption was about 13.4tns, that is 44% lower than in 2008. In general the seamless stainless steel tubes & pipes market in Russia in January-February remained relatively balanced. But since March, trading companies to meet the increasing demand and replenishment will be forced to increase the purchasing of imported products significantly.
