Despite this month’s attempt by producers of
US domestic A-53 electric resistance welded (ERW) black plain end (BPE) Grade A standard pipe to increase prices by $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt), the most commonly reported spot price transaction range has remained at approximately $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt) ex-Midwest mill, unchanged in the past two weeks. Order activity and inquiries are stable, according to industry insiders, but the market is simply not strong enough to support price firming. It’s believed that increased prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) this summer was the only thing that kept standard pipe transaction ranges from slipping; but now that the HRC trend has reversed, it’s unlikely that standard pipe producers will be successful in pushing their prices upward.
Meanwhile, offer prices for import A-53 electric resistance welded (ERW) black plain end (BPE) Grade A standard pipe to the
US from
Vietnam and
Korea have also held steady in the past two weeks. The most commonly reported transaction range from both countries has remained in the approximate range of $39.50-$40.50 cwt. ($871-$893/mt or $790-$810/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf Coast ports. As in recent weeks, interest in booking imports remains weak.